


Once Upon a Toon

by PerkyGoth14



Category: Cartoon Network, Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:41:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 51,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25663804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerkyGoth14/pseuds/PerkyGoth14
Summary: This is a birthday gift for CartoonNetwork90sFan. Cherry and Cathleen are a pair of ordinary young adults who want more out of their lives such as adventure and excitement. The answer to their problem comes in the forms of strangers from out of town who have big news for them who need their help to save the fate of classic Cartoon Characters with them as The Toon Saviors.
Comments: 1





	1. Prologue

**_Once Upon a Time_ **

**_There was a magical world filled with many cartoon characters that we all know._ **

**_Or we think we know._ **

**_One day, they found themselves trapped in a place where all their happy endings and adventures were stolen._ **

**_Our world._ **

**_No one knows how it happened._ **

Our story begins on the evening of August 2nd. A girl with dark brown hair with a light blue-colored streak in her hair as she wore a black sweater that was over a black dress with white spots and black sparkling shoes with white trim at the bottom. She pushed her glasses over her dark brown eyes that nearly matched her hair and she soon knocked on the door once she came over to an apartment door.

The door soon opened to show a light brown-haired girl with hints of blonde with her own glasses and had light blue eyes and wore a purple dress with black shoes. "Right on time, Cherry," she then said. "I thought you'd be late."

"Why? Because I'm brown?" The first girl replied sardonically.

"Can you speak one sentence without being sarcastic?" The second girl rolled her eyes playfully as she shut the door and then unlocked it to open it all the way to let her friend inside.

"If I did, I would be mute," The girl named Cherry smirked as she went inside. "So, you ready to go out or what? I need a freakin' drink."

"You be patient... I'm just about ready..." The second girl scoffed as she walked inside before she stopped and gestured at her outfit. "Are you sure I absolutely _have_ to wear a dress?"

"Cath, it's your birthday, it wouldn't kill you to look a little nice," Cherry rolled her eyes. "Besides, it's way too hot for a suit or sweatpants."

"Hmph... Touché." Cathleen rolled her eyes again to retort against her perky goth friend.

"Just hurry up," Cherry said. "By the time you're ready on your birthday, all the cute guys or girls will be gone. I'd like to have a conversation with at least one person our age who still reads books."

"Might as well live in the Stone Age, Cherry," Cathleen smirked as she went to grab her wallet and keys. "So, is this night out my present or did you get me something?"

"If you must know, I bought these on the way," Cherry said as she took out two cupcakes. "I couldn't afford a whole cake, but we can put some candles in these and you can make your wish before you go to bed tonight."

"Like we have enough friends for a whole cake anyway," Cathleen replied. "Just put them in the fridge for right now and we'll get them when we come back."

Cherry nodded and soon went to do that. After she did, she then grunted and yelped as she straightened out the bottom of her dress as it bunched up.

"Bunching up?" Cathleen guessed.

"I love this dress, but I swear that it gives me a wedgie sometimes." Cherry complained.

"Such a shame you don't have clothes like mine!" Cathleen smirked.

"You're hilarious..." Cherry rolled her eyes and they soon went out the door together as Cathleen locked the door behind them.

"Cherry... You ever think there might be... More for us in life?" Cathleen asked her friend. "Like... Maybe we were meant to do something special and important?"

"Not this again..." Cherry snarked at herself.

"I'm serious," Cathleen said. "Like... I've been having these dreams where we explore... We meet other people... We just... I don't know... Maybe we're destined to do something... In the future... Somewhere else..."

"What is this, a badly written guilty pleasure TV Show?" Cherry rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Cath... As much as I'd love to have a new life, there isn't much for us than to get jobs, go to work, get paid, watch TV, eat dinner we can afford, and then we die. Besides, I love my job."

"I thought you'd have a little more imagination as a stocker at the bookstore... You wanna be a writer, don't you?"

"Yes, I want to be a writer, but that's as adventurous as my life will allow," Cherry said as she put her arm around Cathleen. "Listen, Cath... I have sometimes thought about having a life filled with adventure and wonder... But we were kids whenever we'd imagine adventures like that... We're not kids anymore... It's time to grow up."

"Well, sometimes I don't wanna grow up," Cathleen pouted. "Especially since I'm spending my birthday alone."

"Yeah... You're all alone... Without your mature best friend by your side..." Cherry snarked again.

"You used to be so cool until you talk about how being an adult is better than being a kid." Cathleen narrowed her eyes.

"It's all part of growing up and the sooner you realize that, the sooner you'll accept how being grown-up can be fun too... For instance..." Cherry smirked.

* * *

Suddenly, the two were at a bar and sat at the table, having some drinks together as they clinked glasses together.

"A kid can't drink Sangaria!" Cherry soon concluded with her smirk before she gulped down her drink.

"Hmph..." Cathleen rolled her eyes playfully as she drank with her friend at the table before seeing an older man with brown/gray hair shoulder-length hair in a black suit who had a black cane with him at his table with a golden handle, sipping from a Scotch glass as his brown eyes looked around the room as she chuckled. "Cherry, that guy's totally your type..."

Cherry glanced over as she looked where her friend was looking. "Him?" she asked with a laugh. "He's probably... 80!"

"He's your type though," Cathleen smirked. "He looks old enough to be your father, he looks like he could literally make you jump out of your skin... He's probably the world's strictest college professor."

"Ugh... I don't think so..." Cherry rolled her eyes as she stood up from her stool. "There's no way I'm running into that guy and babbling like an idiot."

"I bet you would..." Cathleen smirked.

"Yeah, right, as if I'm just suddenly gonna stumble right into-" Cherry scoffed before she was suddenly pushed against the man and fell right on his table, nearly making him drop his glass and his cane fell in the middle of the floor.

Many other people soon looked over and saw that before they went back to doing what they were doing.

"Cathleen Ross, you just marked your future grave..." Cherry grumbled.

"Excuse me, my dear, but I believe you're sitting on my wings..." The man spoke to her with a small smirk.

"Yaugh!" Cherry yelped as she shot straight up off of the table and now had barbecue sauce below her dress and had a huge stain on her butt. "I am SO sorry!"

"No harm done..." The man chuckled as he took out some napkins and tried to help clean her up. "You could've asked to come over rather than crashing over... I wouldn't mind the company though. Perhaps I should go to the salad bar instead if you'd like to join me."

Cherry giggled sheepishly, even though he was probably many decades older than she was, turning bright pink in her face. "I-I like salad..." she then mumbled out to him, sounding as nervous as a schoolgirl with her favorite teacher.

"Yes... It's good and good for you..." The man chuckled as he soon looked down at her with a warm smile.

"...I like salad." Cherry then said again, unable to think of anything else to say and she suddenly waddled off quickly like a penguin and went back over to the bar table and hopped back up on her stool beside Cathleen.

"That was smooth, Cherry." Cathleen chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah, when we get back to your apartment, I'm gonna kill you." Cherry grumbled as she turned her stool around and sipped her drink heavily with a straw with her arms crossed.

"You know you love me, right?" Cathleen smirked teasingly.

"Oh, bloody piss off." Cherry uttered out in a faux English accent.

Cathleen chuckled.

The man glanced over to the two younger women and soon took out a flip phone and turned his head as he spoke into it. "I've found them," he then said softly while trying to tune out the other patrons and the loud music. "Wait for further instruction on my signal. Just be patient."

Cherry and Cathleen hung out a bit more at the bar before they suddenly left and decided to go back home. They were now walking down the streets together to get back to the apartment building.

* * *

"Hey, can I sleepover?" Cherry asked with a yawn. "I think I had a little too much to drink... Wine really makes me sleepy."

"Yeah, just remember, it's my birthday," Cathleen reminded. "We have cupcakes to eat so I can make my wish."

"Meheheheeheheh..." Cherry babbled and rolled her eyes playfully before smirking. "Yes, but just remember, in two months, you have to do the same for me."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." Cathleen replied.

Eventually, Cherry sat on the couch as she took her shoes off. She decided to put some music on for both of them to pass the time as Cathleen got the cupcakes ready. However, a car had ridden up to where they were. Out came three kids: one was a boy with short dark brown hair with a scarf, another boy was shown with longish light brown hair, and there was a girl with frizzy and long dark hair with piercing light blue eyes.

"Is this it?" The girl asked the short-haired boy. "Are you sure this is it?"

"It has to be," The boy replied to her. "Can't you sense them like my grandfather told us before we left home?"

"Maybe... I'm a little nervous..." The girl frowned softly.

"Hey, relax," The other boy smirked. "Let's just get in and go, then we're home free. Besides, it's not like they won't believe us."

The three kids soon went off into the apartment.

* * *

Cherry soon lit a match and began to light the candles in the cupcakes and sat on her knees on the couch. "Happy Birthday to you... Happy Birthday to you... Happy Birthday, Dear Spoiled Braaaat... Happy Birthday~-"

"You are terrible." Cathleen rolled her eyes as she sat next to her friend.

"Yeah, well, that's for embarrassing me in front of Rip van Winkle," Cherry smirked. "Now make a wish and blow out the candles."

Cathleen laughed a little before sighing to herself as she made her wish in her head. '...I wish that our lives were different...' she thought to herself as she closed her eyes and blew out the candles.

"A Very, Merry, Actual Birthday... Toooooo Yooou!~" Cherry slurred out after the candles were put out and she began to bite into her cupcake before grimacing. "Bwah! I bit into the candle!"

"Oh, Cherry..." Cathleen rolled her eyes before there was suddenly a knock at the door which confused both girls as she looked back at her friend. "...Did you order pizza or something?"

"No, but I wish I ordered a stripper." Cherry replied.

Cathleen snorted before calling out, "Who is it?!"

There was no straight answer. This concerned the two of them a bit more before they soon got up and decided to see who it was. Cherry held a Lightsaber close in her hands as she narrowed her eyes and soon Cathleen opened the door to see the three kids right in front of them.

"Uh... Can we help you?" Cathleen asked.

"Are you Cathleen Ross and Cherry Butler?" The short-haired boy asked in return.

"...Yeah?" Cherry replied. "Who are you?"

"My name is Henry Mills and these are my friends," The short-haired boy replied. "Dylan Mazinsky and Eve Salazar."

"...Why does this feel so familiar...?" Cherry mumbled to herself and soon, suddenly, the kids came right into the room.

"Whoa! Hey! Kids, you can't just come in here like that!" Cathleen complained. "Don't you have parents or something?"

"It's complicated for them," Henry replied as he gestured to Dylan and Eve. "Listen, it's a very long story and you have to come with us right now. My grandfather is waiting for you."

"Your grandfather?" Cherry asked. "What?"

"This concerns both of you and a mega-crossover for mine and Eve's future!" Dylan said as he grabbed the Lightsaber away from her. "This also involves Henry's family!"

"Hey! Let go!" Cherry complained.

"I know it sounds like a fairy tale, but it's true!" Henry urged before he soon took out a very large book from his backpack. "An Evil Queen put a spell on you and all the other classic characters. You have to believe us!"

"Ugh... I'm going to bed..." Cherry complained as she rubbed her head and went to go out the door. "Cath, let me know how this goes in the morning... I don't think I can take any more scares."

Suddenly, the door opened to show the older man from the bar. "Hello, dear..." he greeted her, looking a bit firm as he leaned on his cane with his hands together on it.

Cherry then suddenly let out a high-pitched scream and she suddenly fell to the floor.

"...Well, that went well." Dylan deadpanned as he stood between Eve and Henry.


	2. Chapter 1: Storybrooke City

Cherry's left eyelids were being pulled and stretched around as a bright light flashed in her eyes. The older man was leaning over her as he examined her to make sure that she was still alive.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Henry asked.

"She'll be fine, Henry," The man replied as he checked Cherry over. "I guess she just had a bit of shock."

"Did she die?" Dylan asked.

"No! I hope she didn't die!" Eve pouted.

"Relax, she didn't die," The man told them before he stopped what he was doing. "She should be fine in a few minutes."

"Okay, what's going on here?" Cathleen asked them. "Who are you and what are you doing in my home? What's this about an evil spell?"

"It's what's going on!" Henry urged. "You have to come home with us."

"No way!" Cathleen said before trying to wake up her friend. "Cherry, wake up."

Cherry soon groaned and woke up, rubbing her head. "The heck is going on here?" she then asked. "Cath, I just had the craziest dream."

"I'm afraid that was no dream, dearie... Please, let us explain," The man soon said which caught her attention as she focused right on him. "My name is Richard Cedric Gold... You may refer to me as 'Mr. Gold' and only 'Mr. Gold', and don't you be forgetting that now, dears."

"I'm gonna call the cops if you don't tell me what's going on and why you're in my friend's house." Cherry scoffed.

"Well, if you would listen for five minutes, you wouldn't _be_ in this situation," Mr. Gold told her sharply as he narrowed his eyes. "I can be your best friend or your worst nightmare very fast. _Which_ would you prefer?"

"You don't get out of my face, Hook Nose, _you'll_ find out what _I_ will be to _you_!" Cherry retorted sharply.

"Oh, Cherry..." Mr. Gold tutted and shook his head. "Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. You used to be so obedient, especially to me..."

"I don't even _know_ you!" Cherry retorted.

"So you think..." Mr. Gold flashed a fanged smirk as he looked deep into her chocolate brown eyes, a bit lighter than his own smoldering sepia eyes. "Now... Sit down and listen to my grandson and his friends... Or I will quickly get under your skin and you _don't_ want to know what I mean by that."

Cherry narrowed her eyes before letting out a cry of anguish before she went to sit down with Cathleen.

"All right, what's going on?" Cathleen asked.

"You have to come with us to what used to be Cartoon Network City," Henry urged. "Someone cast a spell on the classic characters and took away their adventures and happy endings. It's almost like what my mom once did before she changed her heart."

"...Okay?" Cherry shrugged at that.

"And what does that have to do with us?" Cathleen added, sounding a bit skeptical.

"Because you're the Toon Saviors," Henry told them. "You have to help save the people of Cartoon Network City and help them get their adventures and happy endings back."

"Saviors..." Cherry repeated in strong disbelief. "...Right. And I'm a teenage witch who lives with her eccentric aunts and talking cat."

"The characters knew you once too," Dylan soon added. "You were cursed too and you just don't remember your adventures in CN City before it changed."

"It's really important that you come too," Eve frowned. "Otherwise the consequences will be dire... Especially to me and Dylan."

Cherry and Cathleen glanced at each other as they decided to huddle together and talk this over. 

"Whatya think?" Cathleen asked Cherry. "Personally, I think that these kids and old guy are nuts."

"Maybe we should just humor them," Cherry shrugged and rolled her eyes. "I have no idea what's going on myself, but I guess we could just play along, maybe sleepover wherever they wanna go, then we'll hightail it before they wake up."

"Hmm... I guess..." Cathleen replied before nodding.

Mr. Gold, Henry, Dylan, and Eve waited as the two huddled together.

"I'm not sure if they believe us." Henry said to the older man.

"They will," Mr. Gold replied as he narrowed his eyes and firmly placed his hands over top on the handle of his cane. "Believe me, Henry... They will once I deal with them. Especially the darker one."

Eventually, Cherry and Cathleen got out of the huddle.

"Well?" Dylan asked. "Are you coming?"

"All right, we'll go with you," Cathleen replied. "Just give us some time to pack and we'll meet you outside."

"Excellent decision." Mr. Gold nodded his head, though he didn't smile.

* * *

And so, Cherry and Cathleen dressed in more casual clothes. They soon gathered their things while Mr. Gold waited in his car with the kids in the back.

"So we're really doing this..." Cherry said to Cathleen. "You could've talked me out of it."

"Well, if you had an idea, I guess we could've just gone with it," Cathleen shrugged. "After all... It's my birthday."

Cherry rolled her eyes as she soon sat down on her suitcase and clicked it shut. "All right," she then said. "Let's get out of here."

"Goodbye, crappy old life. Hello, new start." Cathleen soon said once they grabbed their luggage, though both girls were sure that they would return very quickly.

The girls then came back over to the group that was expecting them. They made it over to Mr. Gold's car which was a black 1990 Cadillac Brougham. Once he saw the girls, he rolled down the window after propping open the trunk of the car. 

"Put your stuff in the back and do it quietly," Mr. Gold told them in a hushed tone of voice. "The kids are exhausted. Once of you will have to ride in the back and one of you will be up here with me."

"You like riding shotgun, right? Well, here's your chance." Cathleen said as she playfully punched Cherry in the arm before dashing off with her own luggage.

"Ah! But!" Cherry yelped before groaning and rolling her eyes. She then glanced over at Mr. Gold and chuckled sheepishly with a wave at him as he narrowed his eyes at her annoyance of riding up front with him.

"Don't stain the upholstery, dearie." Mr. Gold firmly said as he gripped the steering wheel.

Cherry nodded as she backed away to move her luggage over to the trunk. Once the luggage was put in, the girls closed the trunk and Cathleen sat down in the back with the kids and clicked on her seat-belt. Cherry then sat down up front and clicked hers next and once they were sitting down and comfortable, the car started and they began to leave town to go away into somewhere else.

"It saddens me that you don't remember me, Cherry," Mr. Gold said as he drove, keeping his eyes firm and forward. "We've had such good times together... Aside from this Toon Savior nonsense which you will remember later once I'm through with you."

"And what is that supposed to mean, _Dick_?" Cherry asked sharply, calling him that since his name was "Richard", though she was bitter in tone. "All I wanted to do was take my friend out on her birthday and maybe watch a couple of movies and sleepover... I didn't ask for an adventure, you know."

Mr. Gold chuckled a bit.

"...What?" Cherry asked.

"You sound just like your old self," Mr. Gold smirked as he kept his eyes on the road while she glowered at him. "You'll see what I mean eventually. Why don't you get some rest? It's a long drive."

Cherry rolled her eyes before she leaned a bit in her seat as she moved some cold air her way so she wouldn't get sick. She then had her eyes flutter before they closed shut as Cathleen also fell asleep in the back with the kids. 

"You'll see, Cherry," Mr. Gold whispered as he watched the perky goth briefly while mostly paying attention to the road. "Once you come with me after we get settled, you shall see what I mean~"

* * *

Some time had passed and it was still a bit late at night as Mr. Gold went to drive them into somewhere called "Storybrooke City". All of the passengers were fast asleep as Mr. Gold did his best to stay awake and luckily, he did, and he soon drove across the town line as a shimmer of light shined through that no one else noticed except for him. After taking the kids back home, who snuck back in their respective homes before anyone would realize they were gone overnight and well past their bedtime, he soon drove over to a place that was known as "Madame Foster's Bed & Breakfast" and stopped the car. He then lightly shook Cherry as she lightly snored.

Cherry groaned as her eyes slowly opened up. "...Huh?" she then mumbled.

"We're home," Mr. Gold told her in a hushed tone as the other girl began to slowly wake up before looking to the back. "Cathleen? You'll stay here for a while, just tell Madame Foster and Frankie that Mr. Gold sent you and I'll deliver your friend back to you eventually. Ask for a map if you'd like."

"...Whatever, man..." Cathleen mumbled a bit as she rubbed her eyes. "Cherry, where are you going?"

"Yeah, Dick... Where am _I_ going?" Cherry added sharply once she realized she wouldn't be in the Bed & Breakfast with Cathleen.

"You're coming with me, dearie," Mr. Gold told her. "We'll have a quick drink."

"Well, I guess it's 5:00 somewhere..." Cherry said with a yawn. 

"Yes... Welcome to Storybrooke City..." Mr. Gold nodded. "I'll return for you by sunrise, Cathleen."

Cathleen mumbled as she went out the door and went to get her stuff. Mr. Gold waited until she was at the door and the girl stepped inside the Bed & Breakfast, ringing the bell on the way. Once she was inside the door, the black car soon drove away after dropping her off.

"Hello? ...Hello?!" Cathleen called out as she moved her suitcase. "I know it's late, but I need a place to stay for the night."

Eventually, out came a tiny old woman who had round glasses with silver hair tied in a bun, a light yellow undershirt, a green sweater on top, a purple skirt, and black shoes. "Yes?" she then called. "Do you have any idea what time it is, dear?"

"I'm sorry, but I was sort of brought here against my will," Cathleen shrugged. "So, uh, I'd like a room."

"Really?" Madame Foster asked, sounding surprised.

Cathleen nodded.

"Would you like a forest view or a square view?" Madame Foster soon asked as she fetched a book suddenly and had a pen in her free hand. "Normally there's an upgrade fee for the square, but as the rent is due, I'll wave it."

"Square is fine." Cathleen shrugged. 

"Now. What's the name?" Madame Foster soon asked.

"Ross," Cathleen replied. "Cathleen Ross."

"Cathleen..." Madame Foster repeated as she wrote down the name, though she seemed to have a glimmer in her eye that appeared from nowhere before it went away. "...What a lovely name."

"Thanks..." Cathleen said. 

"So... How long will you be with us?" Madame Foster soon asked.

"A week," Cathleen shrugged. "Just a week."

"Great," Madame Foster said before handing an old-fashioned key over to the girl. "Welcome to Storybrooke City. You enjoy your stay, dear."

"By the way, Mr. Gold sent me." Cathleen soon added.

Madame Foster looked a bit wide-eyed, though she calmed herself down. "I-I see... You may stay as long as you like," she then said. "You have fun now and have a great stay. Just don't make any loud noises or complications during your visit." 

"Thanks." Cathleen said as she took the key and soon went to go upstairs, following the number that the key had on it and went to get settled as she yawned, instantly falling to the bed once she saw it and shut the door behind her, locking it, going to sleep instantly.

* * *

**_Meanwhile..._ **

"Can I go to bed now?" Cherry complained. "I get grouchy when I'm tired."

"You must always be tired then..." Mr. Gold smirked. "Looks like we'll have to pass on that nightcap." 

"What?!" Cherry glared.

Mr. Gold chuckled, not intimidated by her snippiness. They soon pulled up into a house which resembled that of a mansion.

"Ugh... You want me to spend the night?" Cherry asked. "I swear, if you unloop your belt after you take me into the bedroom--"

"Ah, ah, ah~..." Mr. Gold wagged his finger as he tutted to her, looking sharply in her eyes as a warning. "Do not assume from me, my dear. It could end horribly for you... I just thought you would like a nice, warm bed to stay in..." he then smiled. "I want to show you and your friend something tomorrow so you can do your task as the Toon Saviors."

Cherry just groaned and rolled her eyes. "This sounds like a bad TV show," she then said. "When I wake up tomorrow, I better wake up in my own bedroom or Cathleen's couch."

Mr. Gold chuckled as he patted Cherry on her head which made her wince and grimace. They soon unhooked their seatbelts as Cherry yawned and followed him over to the door. Mr. Gold unlocked the door and led Cherry inside, though when the door was shut after Cherry grabbed the doorknob, a shimmering light seemed to pass through. 

"...What?" Cherry muttered as she thought she felt something.

"Miss Butler?" Mr. Gold soon called, making her turn her head over to him. "This way..."

Cherry blinked before putting her hand down to her side with a shrug as she shut her eyes with a sharp sigh. She then went to follow him, rolling her suitcase that dragged behind her. Eventually, they made it to a guest bedroom which was a bit small, though still large considering the living area.

* * *

"Now... If you need anything..." Mr. Gold spoke as she came into the room after the door was opened and she sat down on the end of the bed. "Don't hesitate to call for me."

"Sure thing, Dick." Cherry replied.

Mr. Gold firmly frowned as he narrowed his eyes which nearly flashed a hellish red color. Cherry looked slightly wide-eyed to that, but didn't scream or yelp, she just looked surprised and startled.

"Good night, Miss Butler..." Mr. Gold said sharply as he shut the door behind him.

"...Night." Cherry nodded as she shook chills down her spine before she went to unzip her jacket and kicked off her socks and shoes and soon dropped right into the bed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Henry was shown to be in his bedroom that night, still awake. He then saw that the clock tower's hands had moved as they hadn't moved in over 20 years which was a story that had yet to come. Overall, it was a sleepy evening that night in Storybrooke City, but the big question was... What did Cherry and Cathleen have to do as the Toon Saviors and what did that mean for them? 


	3. Chapter 2: Good Morning, Storybrooke City

Cathleen was still wide awake, thinking about what Mr. Gold had said to her and Cherry. There was a light howling heard outside. Cathleen soon got up and went to close her window before she looked down as a wolf was coming to the Bed & Breakfast. However, as the wolf looked around, there was then a puff of dark red smoke and a young woman was shown with dark brown hair and blue eyes before she soon took out a key and went inside of the cottage when she saw that no one else was there with her.

"Ruby, get inside before someone sees you." A different old woman's voice called.

"Yes, Granny." The young woman replied on the way inside.

"Huh? Who was that?" Cathleen asked herself.

The doors soon shut downstairs.

"I'm probably just dreaming..." Cathleen said before yawning as she shut the door and went to get some sleep. "Good night, Storybrooke City... I hope whatever happens in the morning is interesting... Happy Birthday to me..." she said to herself before she fell fast asleep that night like everyone else in town.

Even Cherry fell asleep, wondering what was going to happen.

* * *

The next day came as the sun came up and both girls were slowly waking up. There was a knock at the door in Cherry's new room before she sat up and rubbed her eyes and put her glasses on.

"Good... You're awake," Mr. Gold said as he stepped inside, leaning on his cane. "Wouldn't want you to miss breakfast?"

"Ugh... I was hoping you were just a dream." Cherry rolled her eyes.

"Afraid not, dear," Mr. Gold smirked. "Why don't you get dressed and we'll go meet your friend for breakfast?"

"Why don't you go... Get breakfast off... A cliff... And... Ugh..." Cherry groaned before she rolled out of the bed and went to use the bathroom. "Too tired and annoyed for comebacks right now."

"My, oh, my," Mr. Gold chuckled. "Someone's a Little Miss Sunshine this morning."

"Go die somewhere..." Cherry grumbled as she shut the bathroom door.

"I haven't for centuries, why would I start now?" Mr. Gold smirked to himself as he went to get his car ready, though he had something in his bag which was a very large book that he kept hidden for right now.

Cherry soon did whatever she needed to do to get ready and soon got dressed to meet him outside as she groaned before texting Cathleen. "We're coming for you," she said as she texted her friend. "Golden Boy just dragged me out of bed. I think I'm gonna stab him when he goes to sleep if we don't go back home tonight."

Mr. Gold honked his car horn for her then.

"Keep your pants on, I'm coming!" Cherry complained.

"Work on that attitude, dearie," Mr. Gold said firmly from the driver's seat. "It's not attractive."

Cherry grumbled before she soon went to sit up front with him, clicking on her seatbelt.

"Now, let's go pick up your friend and get some breakfast, shall we?" Mr. Gold smiled innocently.

"Go... Pick up... Your mom to break... Shut up." Cherry groaned and shook her head a bit.

'I'm going to have the most fun with this girl.' Mr. Gold thought to himself as he got the car ready.

They soon rode off to the Bed & Breakfast.

* * *

Madame Foster was talking with another old woman before they saw Cathleen coming.

"Hello, dear, did you sleep well?" Madame Foster smiled warmly.

"Yes, ma'am," Cathleen replied. "Thank you for letting me stay for the night."

"Of course, just remember to keep your key close by, otherwise you won't be able to get into your room." Madame Foster giggled.

"Right... Wouldn't want that..." Cathleen nodded before looking at the other old woman. "Uh, hi."

"Hey," The other old woman nodded. "You look hungry. I can always tell, you know."

"Well... I am getting kinda hungry..." Cathleen admitted as her stomach started to growl a little.

"Perhaps you should visit my diner," The old woman suggested. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Mrs. Lucas, but everybody calls me 'Granny'."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs.--" Cathleen began.

" _Every_. Body." Granny emphasized.

"...Nice to meet you, _Granny_." Cathleen then said.

"Very good," Granny smiled and nodded. "You should probably visit my diner and get yourself something to eat."

"Thank you, ma'am." Cathleen replied.

"I'll be there momentarily..." Granny said before she talked with Madame Foster a bit more. "I just hope I can take good care of Ruby like you do with Frankie."

"Oh, Frankie is harmless most of the time," Madame Foster smiled at her friend. "You're doing just fine, my friend."

Cathleen soon stepped out before a black Cadillac pulled up right next to her and the window rolled down.

"Don't question it, just get in," Cherry said as she leaned out the window. "Believe me, you have no choice."

Cathleen just shrugged and got in the car as Mr. Gold drove off.

"All right, wiseguy..." Cherry said before facing Mr. Gold. "When do we go home?"

"All in good time..." Mr. Gold smirked as they drove off to Granny's Diner. "You'll get some breakfast... Then I'm gonna take you to my shop. Since it's a school day, my little apprentice won't be in, so it'll be just us. Not to mention the library is open."

Cherry and Cathleen just shrugged.

"You don't remember now, but you will, Cherry," Mr. Gold said before he briefly looked the perky goth in the eyes. "It will all be worth it."

"You..." Cherry said slowly before leaning in and glaring right into his eyes. "Are creepy."

* * *

Eventually, they came to the diner where two girls were working, one had black hair and wore a green dress and the other had blonde hair and a blue dress.

"Ugh, I hate being a waitress!" The black-haired girl complained.

"Because of the hours?" The blonde girl guessed.

"Because I have no fingers!" The black-haired girl glared. "Why do we take these jobs?"

"Don't complain, Buttercup, it's not that bad of a job, plus you have to do this for your Work-Study program in school." Ruby said as she helped them clear a table.

"It still sucks." Buttercup groused.

"Just remember," Ruby told them. "You and Bubbles are lucky that Granny took you in."

"Yeah, your granny's cool, I just hate this job most of the time." Buttercup rolled her eyes.

"It could be worse," Bubbles shrugged. "We could always ask Blossom for help though. I hear that she wants to be a motivational speaker."

Cherry and Cathleen soon came inside the diner and went to get something to eat.

"I could eat anything." Cherry groaned as she sat at a booth with her friend.

"Welcome to Granny's Diner," Bubbles smiled as she came by, giving them a couple of menus and poured them glasses of water. "May I start you off with some water?"

"Yes, please." Cathleen replied.

"Thank you." Cherry added.

"I'd recommend the lasagna... But that's for dinner." Bubbles giggled.

"...Right," Cherry rolled her eyes a bit. "Uh, I think I'll just have a macaroni and cheese omelet with home fries."

"I want to try your country fried steak with hash browns." Cathleen added.

"Excellent choices," Bubbles smiled as she took their menus. "Biscuits?"

"Maybe just a couple." Cherry shrugged.

"All right! Be back soon!" Bubbles giggled before she went off. "Ruby! Orders for Table 10!"

"Coming up, Bubbles." Ruby smiled at the girl.

Cathleen looked over at Ruby before rubbing her eyes.

"You okay?" Cherry asked.

"It's just... I thought I've seen that girl before..." Cathleen said.

Cherry shrugged. "Meh... It's probably nothing."

Cathleen just looked over at Ruby.

"Don't stare," Cherry scolded. "It's not nice."

"It's just... I feel like I've seen her somewhere before..." Cathleen said.

"Interesting..." Mr. Gold smirked as he came by. "Sorry I'm late, dearies."

"Ugh..." Cherry groaned and turned away from him.

"Did you order already?" Mr. Gold asked as he sat with them, setting his cane down beside him.

"Yeah, sorry." Cathleen said.

Bubbles soon came by with the biscuits, setting them down before gasping.

"Tell Granny and Ruby I'd like my usual this morning." Mr. Gold told her.

Bubbles nodded before running away like she was scared of him.

"Why did she run away like she was scared of you?" Cathleen asked Mr. Gold.

"I don't know what you're talking about, dearie," Mr. Gold smiled innocently. "Perhaps she's respecting the town's rules."

"Like you know a lot about 'em?" Cherry asked.

"Ah, yes, did I forget to mention that not only do I own the pawnshop, but I own this town, so I collect everybody's rent and can evict them if they don't pay up?" Mr. Gold then asked. "Well, now you know. Some people can be skittish around me."

"Don't suck my blood, Dracula." Cherry rolled her eyes.

Mr. Gold chuckled at her quip. "You amuse me, Cherry." he said, not letting her silver tongue bring him down.

"And you deeply disturb me..." Cherry said as she scooted away from him.

"Still your type," Cathleen teased. "So dark and mysterious and scares everybody."

"Ah, shush, Birthday Girl." Cherry rolled her eyes before Granny gave them their food.

"There you go, dears," Granny said as she brought the girls their breakfast. "Enjoy your breakfast."

"Thanks, Granny." Cherry and Cathleen said.

Granny glanced at Mr. Gold who glared at her before she walked away from the table in silence. Bubbles soon came back with a cup of tea for Mr. Gold as she did the same as Granny.

"So what's going on in this town?" Cherry asked Mr. Gold as she began to eat up.

"After you get some strength, I'll take you into my shop," Mr. Gold said as he drank his coffee. "I have a surprise waiting."

"What's the surprise?" Cathleen asked.

"You'll find out~..." Mr. Gold stated ominously.

"Are you kidding me?" Cathleen groaned.

"Don't shout." Cherry said as she buttered her biscuit.

"What are you trying to pull on us, old man?!" Cathleen cried out.

"Hey... You're shouting... Don't shout..." Cherry told Cathleen. "Especially in a public place like this... With... Some strange characters..." she then said as she saw a lot of other kinds of people that blended in with the citizens.

"Eat your breakfast and you will find out." Mr. Gold told them calmly.

Cathleen let out a small groan as the three of them eat their breakfast quietly and peacefully.

"Cheesy enough... Not like home, but still good..." Cherry said before Bubbles and Buttercup got into school uniforms and went with Ruby to her car as she drove them to school. "I wonder if we'll see those kids again?"

"Probably at 3:00," Mr. Gold said to her. "It's a school day after all."

"Ah... Right..." Cherry shrugged.

* * *

After breakfast was over, Mr. Gold paid the bill and soon took them back over to his car to go to his pawnshop which was a bit dark and mysterious looking.

"This town makes me want to weep and then die." Cherry said dramatically.

"What's going on now?" Cathleen asked.

"Come with me..." Mr. Gold said as he went to the door and unlocked it. "And maybe later, you can meet my family."

"I don't wanna meet anybody until you tell me what's going on." Cherry said, following him out with Cathleen.

"What are your lives like?" Mr. Gold asked as he walked inside.

"Uh... I work at a bookstore part-time and Cathleen works at a grocery store," Cherry shrugged as she walked in with Cathleen. "Our lives are very boring and mundane... No boyfriends, no adventures, nothing exciting other than hanging out with each other whenever we have clear schedules."

"We could use some excitement in our lives." Cathleen nodded in agreement.

"Interesting... And how sad..." Mr. Gold smirked. "One of you made a wish like this?"

"Meh." Cherry shrugged.

Mr. Gold soon took them to the back room and brought out a very large book. "How very curious... You two have been cursed... And when I give you this book... You are going to listen to everything I say..." he said before showing the book.

The book was a very large scrapbook that said "Cherry's Adventures" on it.

"That book has your name on it." Cathleen told Cherry.

"I can read," Cherry replied. "It's a coincidence, right, Gold?"

Mr. Gold didn't say anything and soon threw the book right at them as it was very heavy with several pages inside of it. Cherry soon caught the book in her arms before falling into a sitting position as it began to glow all around it and it glowed all around her before her eyes widened and she had glowing eyes as something began to happen to her. Eventually, the glowing stopped as she looked up and all around.

* * *

"Hello, Cherry." Mr. Gold said as he knelt down beside the girl.

"R-Richard..." Cherry whispered before she suddenly stood up with his help and hugged him once they both stood up. "You're alive."

Cathleen just look at what just happened. "What the heck is going on?!" she then cried out.

Mr. Gold soon took the book and gave it to Cathleen next. Cathleen nearly stumbled before her eyes widened as she glowed and something began to happen to her next.

"Good... You're both awake now..." Mr. Gold said as he stood in front of them. "Can you tell me about yourselves?"

"I'm an adventurer..." Cherry said softly. "And I'm not mortal... I have special powers... Including being a vampire."

"What do you remember about yourself?" Mr. Gold asked Cathleen next after Cherry was properly restored.

"I'm not a mortal either... For I am actually a wolf..." Cathleen replied. "Along with various other special powers... I even have a boyfriend... Rex Salazar."

"So it worked..." Mr. Gold smirked. "Welcome to the life of adventure, girls."

"I don't understand though," Cathleen said. "Why don't we remember? And what's going on in this city?"

"I regret to inform you that there's been a curse cast on the city that combined my home with the citizens of this town and they've been separated into three classes," Mr. Gold said. "The animals have become natural animals, such as folks like Cow and Chicken who live on a farm right now as A cow and A chicken," he then took out three cards and showed them to the girls. "The classes are as followed... Cartoon Cartoon, those who are originally from here... What a Cartoon, those who are honorary, but not official... And Hanna-Barbera, those who came long before Cartoon Network City existed and were retired into Boomerang Acres."

Cathleen then gasped. "Then those two girls back at the restaurant were--" she then began to realize.

"Indeed," Mr. Gold nodded. "Bubbles and Buttercup from The Powerpuff Girls."

"A new curse?" Cherry asked. "So are you and--"

"The others from Storybrooke aren't affected, but I used magic to build this world... This Storybrooke City, merged from both Storybrooke and Cartoon Network City, and we were waiting for you, especially because the future is in danger." Mr. Gold interrupted in warning.

"And we're the Chosen Ones to save the city?" Cherry guessed.

"Yes... Like Henry said... You are the Toon Saviors," Mr. Gold replied. "The Toons don't remember about their adventures since someone took them away from them. The cartoons you know and love have different lives. Bubbles and Buttercup work at Granny's Diner, Blossom is a part-time motivational speaker, Dexter takes pictures of peoples' pets, Samurai Jack is a landscaper now... The list is endless."

"Is he telling the truth?" Cathleen asked Cherry.

Cherry sighed. "He hasn't lied to me before," she then said. "...Especially with personal things." she mumbled.

"Do you know who took everyone's memories away then?" Cathleen then asked the man.

"I'm afraid that's a problem I have yet to solve," Mr. Gold frowned gravely. "Henry says it's a horrible villain, but I can't figure out who it was, especially after Regina formed from the last curse."

"Regina?" Cathleen asked.

"She was the mayor of Storybrooke," Cherry explained. "She was also The Evil Queen from their universe's Enchanted Forest, like the one I faced with Atticus and Mo to protect Snow White..." she then rolled her eyes. "That was the most annoying adventure of my life."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Cathleen then asked. "We gotta go save 'em."

"You'll also have to blend in, so I took the liberty of giving you both jobs here." Mr. Gold said as he walked by.

"Jobs?" Cherry asked. "We _already_ have jobs."

"Where you came from, maybe, but not in Storybrooke City," Mr. Gold told them. "Miss Butler, you'll work with me in my shop and Miss Ross, you'll be a waitress at Granny's Diner."

"How will we know if one of us is in trouble?" Cathleen asked.

"You have those cellular phones, don't you?" Mr. Gold asked.

" _Cell_ phones, ugh!" Cherry groaned and face-palmed at how old-fashioned he sounded.

"Yes... Quite," Mr. Gold replied. "And remember, you can't leave town, or--"

"We'll lose all of our memories if we cross the town line, yeah, I remember..." Cherry nodded.

"Do you understand too, Miss Ross?" Mr. Gold then asked the other girl.

"Good... Because if you refuse..." Mr. Gold smirked before snapping his fingers, making them a dog and a cat. "I could always use more familiars."

"We're not refusing!" Cherry cried out. "Change us back!"

"Sorry... Couldn't resist..." Mr. Gold chuckled before he changed them back to normal. "Best thing to do is to look out for any magic or adventure that'll come our way... Who knows who could've done this?"

"So it wasn't Regina again? ...Dang it," Cherry sighed and shook her head. "It's probably the last person we'll suspect."

"Not to mention that three children have gone missing because of it," Mr. Gold said. "Not Dylan, Eve, or Henry... Though, Dylan and Eve have their own stories that need saving."

"So, uh... Who are Dylan and Eve?" Cherry soon asked.

Mr. Gold gave her a deadpan gaze. "You met them last night..." he reminded her.

"No, I mean... _Who_ are they?" Cherry asked. "Where did they come from?"

"I could tell you... But it might be dangerous if I reveal such information..." Mr. Gold warned. "And I should know about time travel... Back before the first curse that took over Storybrooke, I met Killian Jones and Emma Swan when they interfered with her parents' first meeting back when I was... Well, you know."

Cherry nodded as she remembered. Cathleen just felt confused.

"The people of Storybrooke are fairy tale people, we used to live in The Enchanted Forest, until Regina who was The Evil Queen from Snow White cast a curse and everyone was sent into a world without magic," Mr. Gold told Cathleen. "This one... Until Snow White and Prince Charming's daughter was found by her long-lost son and brought here to undo the curse."

"Oh..." Cathleen said.

"Not too long after, Cherry arrived into town," Mr. Gold said before smirking. "She wanted to take a gap year off of school and came here to find herself... And I found her... And then we--"

"AH! No one needs to know about that!" Cherry interrupted.

"We'll just keep that as our little secret then." Mr. Gold chuckled.

"Please..." Cherry begged before looking around. "By the way... Uh... Whatever happened to--"

* * *

"Oh, dear, you're back." A brown-haired woman smiled as she held the hand of a young girl who had dark blonde hair and brown eyes, coming through the door.

"Belle." Mr. Gold smiled back at her before they walked into each other and kissed.

Cherry's eyes widened at the sight of the young girl as she shook her head rapidly and nervously.

"Huh... That kid almost looks like you." Cathleen said to Cherry.

"Uh... I think we need to go now." Cherry gulped.

"Cherry, do you know that girl?" Cathleen asked suspiciously.

"...No, I don't." Cherry replied.

"Why did you hesitate?" Cathleen asked.

"...I didn't hesitate." Cherry said.

"You did it again!" Cathleen glared slightly.

"...Did not," Cherry said before going to rush out the door. "Uh, so I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Gold, and I'll be on my way."

"Cherry?" Belle whispered. "Is that you?"

"Crud..." Cherry groaned as she wasn't fast enough to go out the door.

"Who are you?" Cathleen asked Belle.

"Oh, hello there, I don't believe we've met," Belle smiled at Cathleen. "My name is Belle and I work in the library with Velma Dinkley."

"Velma Dinkley?!" Cathleen asked. "As in Velma Dinkley who's a member of the Mystery Inc?!"

Belle glanced over at Mr. Gold.

"She's one of the Toon Saviors that Henry's been talking about." Mr. Gold told his wife.

"I-I see... So you know the story then..." Belle calmly said as she looked over at Cathleen before looking over at the other girl in the room. "...Cherry?"

"...Hi, Belle." Cherry greeted softly and nervously.

"It's been a long time, huh?" Belle smiled innocently.

"Yeah, I guess..." Cherry said as she turned away.

"So you know this woman too?" Cathleen asked Cherry.

"...I-I know a few things..." Cherry said softly.

"Rumple, does she not remember?" Belle asked her husband. "She's finally back."

"It's complicated, Belle." Mr. Gold told his wife.

"Did she just call him Rumple? I thought you said his name was Richard." Cathleen said to Cherry.

"R-R-Richard's actually my name for him..." Cherry coughed nervously as she gripped her collar. "Can we go now? I think we need to go."

"Cherry, please, tell me, what's going on?!" Cathleen begged.

"Yes, Cherry, why don't you tell her?" Mr. Gold asked as he put his arm around Belle. "We're all family after all."

Belle soon picked up the little girl in the shop and took her in the back room to play with her dolls since she could tell that this looked and sounded serious.

"...Okay, he told you I was here before with some new friends... You just don't remember because of a deal I made..." Cherry said to Cathleen with a sharp sigh before pointing at Aurelia as Belle left with her. "You see that little girl?"

Cathleen glanced back before nodding, though it was obvious to her until Belle and Aurelia were out of earshot.

"...That's my daughter." Cherry said quietly.


	4. Chapter 3

"Your daughter?!" Cathleen asked her friend as her eyes widened. "Then... That means that Gold is her father?"

"You really are a genius like Dexter once was." Mr. Gold nearly deadpanned.

"Be nice..." Cherry warned him before sighing. "But yes... While I was here... Mr. Gold and I got... Very close with each other..."

"Does Belle know?" Cathleen asked.

"...Do you know what a triad is?" Cherry asked sheepishly.

Cathleen shook her head as she did not.

"A triad is when three people are in a relationship together." Cherry explained.

"...Then that means, that you, him, and Belle were all--" Cathleen began.

"Yes." Cherry interrupted with a nod.

"...So you sleep with _both_ of them?" Cathleen asked.

"Yes, Cathleen," Cherry rolled her eyes. "I used to live with them in their mansion when I took a year off of school to come here and we had your and everybody else's memories erased of me being gone for a year to make it look like I was just visiting Gotham City for a couple of weeks."

"...Does Atticus--" Cathleen began.

"No, he just wouldn't understand," Cherry sighed. "But Aurelia is my daughter, I'm not married to either Belle or Gold, but we were all together... Kind of like a family. I would've stayed forever, but I knew Drell would find me sooner or later, so I just decided to go as soon as he found me, not bothering fighting it."

"I don't understand..." Cathleen said. "Didn't you want to stay with them?"

"I had to go back to Greendale," Cherry told her. "I had a huge responsibility there... Until the memory wiping spell came out. We've had adventures, all of us."

"If we had adventures, why don't I remember?" Cathleen asked.

"Because I didn't want any trace to come back after my time in Storybrooke... So I made it all up," Cherry sighed sharply. "I didn't want anyone to be hurt, so I made it look like were powerless, normal mortals with no adventures or magic. I wanted to leave it all behind so that no one would get hurt and I didn't remember anything until I got my memories back. This pawnshop has everything that everybody's used or had from their stories and adventures before someone took them all away. This book helped me see the light." she then added as she held up her scrapbook which said "Cherry's Adventures" on the front cover.

"I see..." Cathleen realized.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Cherry replied. "I didn't want you to get hurt because of me." 

"So you took away my memories and everyone else's..." Cathleen said. "How did you do that?"

"It's really complicated," Cherry sighed. "I don't think you'll understand... Especially with this universe's rules."

"I think you two oughta get some dinner at Granny's later tonight," Mr. Gold advised. "I'll take you out if you want."

"I think you've done enough, _Bumple_." Cherry grumbled out sharply.

"Come on now, dearie, don't be like that." Mr. Gold told her.

Cherry sighed as she put her hands to her face.

"It'll be all right," Mr. Gold told her. "And you can help the three missing kids who went away from the curse, but sadly, no one else has noticed."

"Are you gonna tell us about them?" Cherry asked.

"I will... If you promise to stay," Mr. Gold nodded. "Do you promise me? You know I'll know if you're lying or not."

Cherry sighed before glancing at him. "...Fine," she then said. "I'll stay... And especially avoid the town line."

"And I'll stay too," Cathleen added. "Anything to help my best friend out."

"You're smarter than I pegged you for... Good..." Mr. Gold nodded. "Even if you were a bit of a violent type, Miss Ross, in certain adventures, especially around Cherry's other friends."

"Please don't remind me about that part of my past," Cathleen begged. "I feel really bad about it."

"You've learned your lesson..." Mr. Gold nodded. "Very good."

"Now, about these three missing kids?" Cherry asked.

"Ah, yes," Mr. Gold said before he took them over to his globe. "They come from this desert island... So obscure... So unknown... So in the middle of nowhere... No one really knows a whole lot about it... But I know some stories about it."

"Which island?" Cherry asked. "Not Gilligan's Island?" She then smirked.

"Charming, but no..." Mr. Gold smirked back at her. "It's called The Albonquetine Island."

"Albonquetine Island?" Cathleen repeated.

"Why does that sound so familiar?" Cherry murmured to herself.

"It's an island that's right off the pacific," Gold said as he showed them his globe. "Mostly peaceful... It was created and invented by a man named Wendell Joshua Albonquetine who crashed with people from Britain on The Good Ship Betty Anne over 300 years ago. And since then, the people adapted and eventually a new civilization was born."

"So the kids are from some sort of tribe?" Cherry asked.

"Two of them anyway," Gold nodded before he took out a file. "This is the only one I can really tell you about that I got from Mother Superior and the other nuns at the church."

"Yes?" Cherry and Cathleen asked.

"Her name is Michelene Mazinsky," Gold informed as he opened the file to show a girl with ginger hair in pigtails in a red shirt, red skirt, white socks, and red and white sneakers. "No one really knows where she came from aside from Manhattan in New York where my son was living for a while after our separation in The Enchanted Forest or much about her family, but she became an exchange student on The Albonquetine Island and met a couple of native children named Lu and Og."

"Sounds a little like Emma's situation... About not knowing where she came from." Cherry commented.

"Yes, I suppose you could say that." Gold nodded at her as he showed them the file.

"Could you tell us where they are?" Cathleen asked as Cherry was still looking over the file.

"That's the problem, I can't track them down, especially since I don't have a blood sample or where they had gone," Mr. Gold explained. "I don't even have anything that belonged to them that would let me use a locator spell."

"That redheaded girl... I don't know why, but she looks so familiar to me." Cathleen remarked.

Belle soon came out from the backroom. "Are you going to live with us forever then, Cherry?" she then asked.

"I-I... I don't know if I should..." Cherry said. "Especially since... What happened before I had to leave. My true heritage."

"We won't hold it against you," Mr. Gold reminded her. "I was a Dark One many centuries before you came along before Regina cast her first curse that created Storybrooke."

"Cherry... I won't be upset if you decide to live here," Cathleen said maturely. "You have a daughter and two lovers who need you here."

"I especially had to go after I became a new Dark One because I had to make my parents happy." Cherry sighed sharply.

"Your parents wouldn't want you to be evil." Cathleen shook her head as she knew Cherry's parents very well and they were always very kind and supportive people, even parents to their daughter's friends.

"Not those two, Cath," Cherry said as she looked off to the distance. "I didn't know it until I came here, but... I was given alternate memories until I ended up here... I'm a child of evil and from the Fairy Tale Realm like everyone else here. My parents are Ursula the Sea Witch and Dr. Facilier the Shadow Man from this universe."

"Say what?!" Cathleen asked as her eyes widened in even more shock.

Cherry sighed as she stood in front of the counter and put her hands to her face.

"You worked your way through that," Mr. Gold reminded Cherry. "No one's mad at you for it, dearie."

"I know," Cherry groaned. "But that's part of the reason why I left and had my memories taken from me. Because of all this drama."

"I still don't understand," Cathleen said. "Does Drell know about this?"

"He does, but he shouldn't get involved," Mr. Gold replied. "This is our jurisdiction."

"Even if he, Hilda, and Zelda used to visit the Enchanted Forest all the time back when Regina was The Evil Queen and Snow White's step-mother," Belle added before she sat down on the stool in front of her husband's spinning wheel. "And now, we're living our new cursed lives, but with the people from Cartoon Network."

"And, much like Emma Swan, you were chosen to become the Toon Saviors sometime after Cherry left and made your lives normal," Mr. Gold added with a sharp sigh. "So she left after the big battle... And we never saw her again... Until Henry and his new friends found out about her and brought you both here."

"And those kids with him... Who are they?" Cathleen asked, referring to Dylan and Eve.

"They're from the distant future... Very far from the future..." Mr. Gold said ominously. "20 years from now."

"We can't figure out where they exactly came from, but yes," Belle nodded. "Eve even... Oh... Um..." she then stopped.

"Belle, you might as well tell her," Cherry sighed. "There's no turning back now."

"...No, there isn't," Belle shook her head before facing Cathleen. "Cathleen... Eve is actually your daughter from the future."

"What?!" Cathleen asked.

"Well, technically adoptive daughter, but yes." Mr. Gold nodded to that.

"I have a daughter... But then... Who's her father?" Cathleen asked.

"A young man by the name of Rex Salazar." Mr. Gold replied.

"Rex Salazar..." Cathleen said before pausing. "...I feel like I know him, but I can't think right now."

"It'll come to you later," Mr. Gold reassured. "This is the classic generation of Cartoon Network right now after all."

"...I see," Cathleen said. "Looks like I have a lot to learn and remember..."

Cherry soon sat down at the spinning wheel stool and began to spin at Mr. Gold's wheel since she had a lot on her mind.

"Careful." Mr. Gold reminded her.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know," Cherry rolled her eyes as she spun vigorously. "I just wish you guys could figure out who's probably behind this... I wanna suspect Regina, but she's changed a lot since Emma met her."

"I just wanna know one thing... Why is that redheaded girl so familiar to me?" Cathleen continued to wonder.

"You'll figure it out later," Mr. Gold told her. "Just stop and enjoy the sights until you start work tomorrow."

"I just can't believe I have to be a waitress..." Cathleen muttered.

"Trust me... You'll enjoy working there more than you think..." Mr. Gold told Cathleen. "And Cherry, slow down before you make my wheel roll away."

"Just so... Frustrated..." Cherry grunted as she used his wheel before she slowly began to calm down as she took a deep breath. "Mm... That does feel a little relaxing..." she said as she watched the wheel spin. "I can see why you would do this so often."

"Might as well do this thing then." Cathleen suggested.

"Why don't you stay for dinner?" Belle asked Cherry, hugging the girl from right behind. "It'll be like old times."

"Do I get dessert too?" Cherry smirked.

"If you're good enough~" Belle smirked back.

Cherry chuckled before looking over. "...I probably shouldn't leave Cathleen alone..." she then said.

"Perhaps you could show her around town?" Mr. Gold suggested. "You ought to know your way around by now."

"You do remember your way around, yes...?" Belle asked.

"Yeah, I remember..." Cherry sighed. "I'll see you guys later, okay? ...By the way, uh, does Aurelia know about me?" she then asked.

"We were going to tell her when she was a little bit older, but she believes that Belle is her mother since you left right after she was born," Mr. Gold told her softly. "But we thought that whenever you'd return that you would help explain some things."

"...Okay," Cherry said before going out the door. "C'mon, Cath."

"Right... I'm coming!" Cathleen replied as she followed after her friend.

The two young women soon left the pawnshop as Mr. Gold sharply sighed.

"Mama... Papa..." Aurelia spoke up as she came out of the back room with her dolls. "Who was that?"

"We'll tell you later, dearie," Mr. Gold said as he patted his daughter on the head. "We'll tell you later."

* * *

And so, Cherry and Cathleen walked all over Storybrooke City to explore, though it changed a little bit since Cherry was last here, especially with the addition of the Cartoon Network citizens.

"Aha! I have done it! I have created..." Dexter beamed as he was working at a photo store. "A 5x7 glossy photo of your pet Schnauzer!"

"It looks like there's some red-eye." The woman said to him.

"Tell that to the vet. Good and bye!" Dexter told her before dismissing her.

"Dexter was a boy genius and now he's working at a photo store?" Cathleen frowned. "What could have happened?"

"I don't know... I doubt Regina did this, but you should meet her," Cherry said. "Luckily she's not evil anymore."

"Hmm... I wonder who did this then?" Cathleen shrugged.

"I don't know and I don't care..." Cherry rolled her eyes.

"Hey, you feeling okay?" Cathleen asked.

"Fine... I'm just a little annoyed that I'm back here now and I can't leave otherwise I'll forget everything, including you... It's the curse of this town..." Cherry said as she took Cathleen into the walkway of a mansion where the man formerly known as Samurai Jack was, though he was now a landscape artist and made bush displays in the mayor's yard next to her apple tree.

* * *

Eventually, they made it to the door and the front door was knocked on.

"Yes, what is it?" A woman with short black hair asked before opening the door and looking over. "...Cherry, is that you?" she then asked in surprise.

"Hey, Regina." Cherry waved weakly.

"It's been so long," Regina smiled as she hugged Cherry. "How have you been?"

"A little bit annoyed and confused about what's going on," Cherry said, flinching from the hug before looking over. "This is my friend, Cathleen... Cathleen, this is Madam Mayor: Regina Mills."

"So, you're the Evil Queen from Snow White?" Cathleen asked.

"Yes, but I've changed since then," Regina nodded. "I'm not going to hurt anyone anymore, unless they hurt the people I care about like my son, Henry. Tell me, do you like apples?"

"Sometimes." Cathleen shrugged.

"Perhaps I'll make some of my famous apple turnovers," Regina said as she walked off to her tree. "Excuse me."

Cherry nodded as she then took Cathleen into the living room to sit down.

"Well, she seems nice." Cathleen said.

"Yeah, now," Cherry scoffed as she rolled her eyes. "She used to be this cold witch when she was The Evil Queen and borrowed the curse back when Mr. Gold was Rumplestiltskin just to ruin Snow White and Prince Charming's happiness after he kissed her awake."

"How did she turn good?" Cathleen asked.

"She changed," Cherry said. "She became more helpful. And she wanted to make Henry happy."

"Yes, Henry is my whole world," Regina nodded as she came back in with a basket filled with apples. "I didn't want him to know too much about the past until his teacher gave him that book, but I guess I was the one who needed to change and not just curse everyone."

"Not to mention trying to poison Emma when she came into town." Cherry rolled her eyes.

"But now, this is the new me," Regina defended before she decided to change the subject. "Have you seen my new landscape artist? He does a really great job."

"Yeah, that's great..." Cherry blinked. "For someone who used to be a very honored and trained samurai."

"I just hope Zelena didn't do this." Regina said.

Cathleen was about to ask.

"Wicked Witch of the West, Regina's half-sister, long story." Cherry explained before she could ask.

"Ohh..." Cathleen said. "Um, do you think that she could've done this?"

"I hope she didn't." Regina said as she went to make them some apple turnovers.

"Where is she then?" Cherry asked.

"In Oz as far as we know," Regina replied. "So hopefully..."

"Eh, just for the heck of it, I'm gonna say your mom for drama." Cherry shrugged as she sat back on the couch.

Cathleen looked out the window where the man formerly known as Samurai Jack was finishing up the yard work.

Regina soon came into the other room and gave them each cups of tea. "So, Cherry, you'd rather live life like a boring mortal with no adventures?" she then asked.

"I had to regain some sort of sanity," Cherry said. "This isn't Wonderland."

"Believe me, I know." Regina smirked.

"It just doesn't look right.' Cathleen said as she watched Jack as he clipped the bushes in Regina's yard.

"Regina, do you know anything about these three missing kids? Gold gave us a file of a redheaded girl." Cherry asked as she handed the mayor a file on the girl known as Michelene Mazinsky.

"Hmm... Let me see..." Regina said as she took the file.

"Take your time..." Cherry said. "Maybe she came from the same place Gold found Henry for you to adopt him."

"Probably..." Regina said as she looked the file closely. "Hmm... This child seems familiar... I'm not sure from where though."

"We know that the two other kids are natives from the island called Albonquetine." Cathleen remarked.

"Yes, Gold's mentioned about that island, sorta like Neverland." Regina nodded.

"Don't say Neverland." Cherry groaned as she held her head.

"Oh, sorry, Cherry," Regina said as she looked over the file. "I think I saw this kid when Mother Superior was visiting the school to help out a little with the PTA before I had to sign out."

"I don't know why, but I keep having visions about her." Cathleen then said.

"Those could mean something." Cherry remarked.

"Let me see something..." Regina said before her hands began to glow. "Cherry, do you still have Memory Vision?"

"I... I guess I could..." Cherry shrugged.

"Try it and see what happens." Regina said.

"Um... Okay then..." Cherry said before she put her hand on Cathleen's head. "Just relax... I'm gonna try to look inside your head to see your visions."

Cathleen then took a deep breath and relaxed. Cherry took some deep breaths too before their eyes both went wide and glowed as they began to see the same thing.

* * *

_We are shown an island where three children and a turtle were lying in the middle of the sand on a desert island. There with them were Cherry and Cathleen as they seemed to know the kids in this memory somehow. They were lying underneath the shade of a tall palm tree._

_"It's hot... Way hot..." The redheaded girl said._

_"Hot..." The brunette girl added in a whiny voice._

_"Hmm..." The quiet boy hummed in agreement._

_"If it gets any hotter, we're gonna need to add Island Fried Cherry on the menu." Cherry grumbled._

_"I hate being hot." Cathleen added._

_"If I knew it were this hot, I would've stayed in New York!" The redheaded girl snarked. "But nooo! I had to end up on a lost island."_

"It's her..." Cathleen's voice said. "But something about this isn't right..."

"Looks harmless enough so far... So that's Mike..." Cherry realized. "We were friends with her, though mostly Cath..."

"If we were, then how come I don't fully remember her right now?" Cathleen asked.

"We will, slowly but surely, the memories will come flooding back like when Emma was the original Savior." Cherry reassured.

"She just disappeared." Cathleen said.

"I'd help you if I knew how, but I'm not a wizard in that sort of thing." Regina replied.

"Isaac!" Cherry soon called out.

"...Isaac?" Cathleen blinked. "Who's Isaac?"

"You think _he_ did this?" Regina asked.

"Who's Isaac?" Cathleen tried again.

"It seems likely since he was the reason I ended up here in the first place." Cherry replied.

" _Who_ is Isaac?!" Cathleen asked.

"Hmm... That does make sense now that I think about it... But why would he bring Cartoon Network characters here too?" Regina pondered.

"Please for the love of all that is cartoons and Fairy Tales WHO IN THE HELL IS ISAAC?!" Cathleen nearly roared.

"Inside voice." Regina warned firmly.

"Sorry..." Cathleen said once she sat down.

"Sorry about that, Cath," Cherry replied. "Anyway, Isaac Heller is known as 'The Author'."

"Like you?" Cathleen asked.

"No, Cath, not like me." Cherry sighed and shook her head.

"He had a special book and pen given to him from the last author and he can write out whatever he wants to have happen." Regina explained.

"And you think that he's behind this?" Cathleen asked.

"I think so." Cherry nodded firmly.

"So where is he now?" Cathleen then asked.

"I banished him somewhere after we faced him before Aurelia was born..." Cherry said. "...I can't think of where though."

"So, that's it? We're gonna give up?" Cathleen asked.

"No, no one is saying that, we just have to have a look around," Cherry said. "It's a very curious mystery to say the least."

"I'm sorry we can't do much work, but I'll take a look around, especially in the mines where Leroy and the other dwarves are." Regina offered.

"That'll be great, Gina," Cherry replied. "I might also need to borrow certain spells of my own... If I can channel my magic again, it's been too long."

"Of course, Cherry." Regina nodded.

"I'd call Minnie over, but I don't know if I should risk it." Cherry said.

Regina nodded.

"Friend of yours?" Cathleen asked.

"Yeah, another friend of mine outside of you," Cherry replied as she faced her. "She and Elvira help me out in a bit more of darker and edgier stuff, but I don't think that this is their territory."

"You mean Elvira: Mistress of the Night?!" Cathleen asked in shock.

"Please stop yelling in my house." Regina told Cathleen.

"Sorry." Cathleen said softly.

"Yeah, what about her?" Cherry asked, confused.

"I can't believe that _you_ know _her_!" Cathleen said.

"I didn't tell you?" Cherry asked.

"Tell me what?" Cathleen replied.

"Long before the adventures started and I had to be put up for adoption, my parents used to know Elvira, she was an old friend of my mother's," Cherry explained. "I used to see her all the time when I was a baby and my mom made her into my godmother until the prophecy began."

"No, you didn't tell me about that." Cathleen replied.

"Really? I thought I did..." Cherry shrugged. "Plus sometimes she sends Minnie over to see me whenever she's too busy."

"I didn't know Elvira had a daughter." Cathleen then said.

"She doesn't," Cherry said. "Minerva, or as I like to call her, Minnie, is her niece/apprentice. She's a really good friend of mine..." she then said, showing a picture on her phone with a girl with shoulder-length shiny black hair in a dark gray shirt with black and white striped sleeves, a darker gray skirt, and black boots who stared at the screen with a gloomy, disinterested frown.

"Wow, she looks as cheerful as you on a regular basis." Cathleen snarked.

"Oh, I miss them, I haven't seen them in a while, but now, I guess, I never will see them again..." Cherry said firmly.

"Hey, it's not my fault that the town line does that." Regina defended.

"It's okay, Regina; I'm not mad at you." Cherry reassured.

"I should hope not," Regina said before sighing. "I thought we were past all of this, but it seems like no matter what we do, we can't stop getting cursed."

"Sounds like my life half the time actually," Cherry replied. "...Cooking something?"

"My famous apple turnovers," Regina nodded. "Cathleen, do you like apple turnovers?"

"Yes, please," Cathleen nodded. "Thank you."

"They'll be ready in a little bit." Regina said.

"No poison this time, eh, Evil Queen?" Cherry teased.

"Cherry..." Regina rolled her eyes.

"I kid, I kid." Cherry smirked.

"I'll go ask Landscaper Jack if he wants one." Regina said as she stood up and went to go out to her front yard.

"You do that..." Cherry shrugged.

Regina soon walked outside to go and see the former samurai.

"So... This Henry kid..." Cathleen said as she checked the photographs of Henry that Regina kept around the house. "Is he a brat?"

"Nah, Henry's really sweet and mature for his age," Cherry said. "He left Storybrooke once to go and find Emma to bring her into town because she was The Chosen One to break Regina's curse on everyone when they lost their memories for 28 years."

"Oh, I see..." Cathleen said.

"Somehow he found out a way, especially after Mary Margaret gave him that book," Cherry said before she set one picture down. "Don't get me started on his family tree though after Emma came into town."

"Why?" Cathleen asked.

"Don't ask... It'll give you the worst headache," Cherry told her. "I guess we'll start working tomorrow and trying to find out what to do from there."

"All right then." Cathleen shrugged.

Regina soon came back inside the house with a giggle.

"New boyfriend?" Cherry teased Regina.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe..." Regina said as she went to check on the oven.

"Yep, definitely a new boyfriend." Cherry smirked.

"Don't you have old junk to sell with Gold?" Regina rolled her eyes as she opened the oven to take out the apple turnovers.

"Not 'til tomorrow probably," Cherry smirked. "Anyone's better than Sheriff Graham... Whatever happened to him anyway?"

"I don't know and I don't care," Regina scoffed. "He's old news anyway."

"So sad... The Queen has a fallen King... And her new King seems to be in the form of a Samurai," Cherry sighed dramatically as she gave a small smile. "It'd be nice if you could keep a new boyfriend though, Gina... You could definitely use one, you've had worse luck than I have with boyfriends."

"Thank you, Cherry." Regina smiled back.

"Yeah, yeah, I try." Cherry shrugged.

* * *

Eventually, the three shared their apple turnovers with some glasses of water.

"Pretty nice as always, even if I'm not a big apple eater." Cherry said since she had eaten them before.

"This is delicious," Cathleen added. "Much better than my dad's."

"Now if you want to know more about this Michelene Mazinsky kid, you could probably try to ask Mother Superior or the other nuns," Regina suggested. "They look after a lot of parentless children here like some of the Lost Boys that Cherry saved from Neverland."

"We'll see what we can do." Cherry nodded.

"Is she a fairy tale character too?" Cathleen asked.

"The Blue Fairy from Pinocchio." Cherry told her.

"Would you girls like any more turnover?" Regina offered.

"Yes, please, thank you." Cathleen replied.

"Do you want some too, Cherry?" Regina then asked.

"I'm full now, Gina." Cherry said.'

"All right," Regina nodded. "I also have to get ready to go later on."

"What's happening later on?" Cathleen asked.

"I sort of promised Mother Superior I'd help her and the sisters out with the orphans," Regina said. "Funny thing is, I don't think they come from The Enchanted Forest or the same place the Cartoon Cartoons came from... I mean, some of them look like it, but they don't seem like it, like Henry's friends Dylan and Eve."

"Thank you, Regina, for helping us out." Cathleen said.

"You're welcome, girls, and you're always welcome to stop by again." Regina invited.

"So, what do we do now?" Cathleen asked Cherry as they walked off.

"Just explore, I guess I could show you around," Cherry shrugged. "This was kind of my home away from home... Even if no one remembers me being gone."

"So your parents are Ursula the Sea Witch and Dr. Facilier the Shadow Man?" Cathleen said. "I never would've guessed that."

"Sure, in the Onceverse." Cherry muttered.

"Huh?" Cathleen asked.

"But yeah, I guess I'll show you all about this place that has Cartoon Network people involved," Cherry said, dodging the question. "Though I'm curious a little bit about those orphans that Regina talked about. Maybe Mary Margaret's seen some of them if they're allowed to take classes with Henry."

"We could always look around and see if you want?" Cathleen offered.

"Meh..." Cherry shrugged.

* * *

They soon went to the school where the students were as their teacher gave them their lesson, holding a bluebird in her hands gently and calmly.

"As we build our birdhouses, remember: what you're making is a home. Not a cage. A bird is free, and will do what it will," A teacher who was a woman with short black hair told her students as she paced around the classroom. "This is for them, not us. They're loyal creatures." she then released the bird out of the window.

The bird then flew up into the birdhouse that was outside as the students watched in awe.

"If you love them and they love you, they will always find you." The teacher then told her students.

The bell then rang as the class stood up and went to walk out the door.

"We'll pick this up after recess. No running!" The teacher told her students before accepting a pear from a student. "Why thank you!"

"Just as kind and animal loving as I remembered..." Cherry said as she stood outside the door with Cathleen.

"Is that Snow White?" Cathleen asked Cherry.

"Yeah, more or less," Cherry replied. "Though here, she's Mary Margaret Blanchard."

"...Cherry, is that you?" Snow asked as she looked over.

"Hey, Snowy," Cherry smirked as she held up her hand. "Luckily for me though, she's not as obnoxious as her Disney movie counterpart."

Snow beamed as she soon hugged Cherry. "Oh, I know you don't like hugs, but it's so good to see you," she said softly. "I didn't think we'd ever see you again."

"Yeah, I tried to live a normal life on the outside, but I just got sucked right back in anyway." Cherry said, her hands dangling from the hug.

"Oh, and who's this strange new friend of yours over there?" Snow asked once she spotted Cathleen.

"This is Cathleen," Cherry introduced. "One of my friends from before I ended up here years ago."

"So... You're Snow White?" Cathleen asked. "Are you afraid of apples?"

"Very funny," Snow replied. "You shouldn't cross me though, I'm a lot tougher than I look."

"Sure, just ask David." Cherry smirked.

"Do you have special abilities or something?" Cathleen asked the teacher.

"I was pretty good with a bow and arrow when I tried to rebel against Regina before I met the dwarves," Snow replied. "Regina used to want me dead because of a mistake I made when I was a little kid before she married my father."

"What happened?" Cathleen asked.

"Regina told me a secret that she was in love with a stable boy named Daniel and didn't want to marry my father... But then I told her mother what happened and got her in trouble... So then the wedding went on," Snow sighed. "I made Regina into The Evil Queen... So then I became a thief, weapon master, and a lot more."

"Wow, you sound different from the Snow White I know from childhood." Cathleen commented.

"Yes," Snow nodded before she then smiled. "I did whatever I could to survive until I met the dwarves and eventually David when he was about to marry a woman named Kathryn and I stole something from him, but... Eventually, we fell in love and he became my Prince Charming and we were excited to become parents at first."

"Aww~... That's so sweet." Cathleen said with a small smile back.

"What's this? I thought tomboys weren't allowed to like anything sweet and nice." Cherry smirked.

"Cherry..." Cathleen pouted.

"Hey, your words, not mine," Cherry replied. "You're the one who threw a fit about finding a lost duckling cute and thought you were going insane."

"Hey, I couldn't help it if I found him so cute and adorable!" Cathleen defended.

"My point exactly." Cherry rolled her eyes.

Snow glanced over.

"Cathleen used to go on about how tomboys aren't allowed to find anything cute or whatever," Cherry rolled her eyes. "I don't know what her deal is either."

"I don't know," Snow said. "I hope you can find out what's going on. Storybrooke was crowded enough as it was and now these people just show up like that guy who thinks he's Elvis and tries to flirt with me when I already have David."

"Ah, yes, Johnny Bravo," Cherry rolled her eyes. "Very obnoxious."

Cathleen nodded as she then slowly remembered their What a Cartoon adventure when they first met Johnny Bravo and his attempts to flirt with them.

"You better run along," Snow told them. "I don't have long for recess and I promised Ms. Keane I'd talk with her about how to handle Buttercup. Must be weird having the Powerpuff Girls around without them using superpowers."

"Actually, it sounds a lot like 2016." Cherry snarked.

"Hm?" Snow blinked.

"Well, we'll get out of your way, thanks, Snow." Cherry said as she took Cathleen out the door.

"You're welcome," Snow smiled. "Stop by anytime."

"We might later... If we can figure out what we're gonna do here..." Cherry said as she rolled her eyes. "But you know Rumple... Cryptic as all heck."

Snow smiled as she began to erase what was on her chalkboard as they left.

* * *

"Man, I don't know how we're even gonna help," Cherry rolled her eyes. "The pawnshop usually has stuff from people's pasts that they come to see and buy which helps them bring their memories back, but those are from the Enchanted Forest."

"Maybe he has stuff from the old Cartoon Network." Cathleen suggested.

"All right, you go ask him and I'm gonna go wait for you outside." Cherry smirked.

"He's _your_ boyfriend." Cathleen smirked back.

"But it was _your_ idea." Cherry retorted.

"Come on, Cherry, be a pal." Cathleen urged.

"...All right, but you're coming with me..." Cherry rolled her eyes.

* * *

Eventually, they were coming back to the pawnshop, even though the closed sign was at the door right now.

"It appears that when I bought that 'closed sign', I was just throwing my money away." Gold smirked at himself.

"Uh, hey..." Cherry said as she came up beside him with her hands behind her back. "...I think we need to talk."


	5. Chapter 4

"Oh, and what is it that we would need to talk about, dearie?" Mr. Gold soon asked the girl.

"Uh... Well... You have stuff from the Enchanted Forest... Do you have stuff from Cartoon Network that could help people remember who they are around here?" Cherry asked.

"I'd have to check to see, why don't you help me out?" Gold smirked, putting a heavy box in her arms.

"I don't have time for games," Cherry narrowed her eyes as she set the box down and crossed her arms. "Either yes or no."

"I'm busy today," Gold smirked. "Besides... We should catch up... Have some dinner together... Belle and I have missed you."

"...There's no way out of this until I say yes, is there?" Cherry groaned. "Fine... I'll come to your house and see you for dinner tonight, but you better remember my question."

"Of course, I'll remember," Gold smirked slightly. "I'll see you soon, dearie~"

"Of course you will..." Cherry grumbled.

"You sure you don't want a drink first?" Gold asked. "We haven't had a drink together in a long time."

"Because last time I had a drink with you, I was told I was going to have a baby..." Cherry mumbled as she walked off.

Gold watched her go before opening the box to show many items inside such as the old Cartoon Theater plaque, a Fancy Anvil Award, and an old disc that said Cartoon Cartoon Fridays on it.

* * *

"Ugh... I'm hungry..." Cherry groaned as she held her stomach. "I wonder if Granny's serving lunch yet?"

"She makes the best food." Cathleen nodded in agreement.

They soon decided to get going to Granny's diner.

"Oh, Cherry?" Gold called as he opened the door to his shop. "I do hope you'll come over for dinner."

"...Uh, Granny's?" Cherry asked.

"We can order something in," Gold said with a small smile. "You can bring your friend too. Belle would love to have you."

"I'll work that into my schedule..." Cherry said as she took Cathleen to get going with her.

Gold watched them go before he went back into his shop and hid away the secret Cartoon Network stuff in his backroom behind his spinning wheel so that no one would see it whenever they would come into the shop.

* * *

They soon came into Granny's just in time for lunch to be served as some other people also came into the diner.

"Hey, Cherry," The young woman that Cathleen saw last night said as she soon came by, wearing a red jacket as she sat down in a booth as the two came in. "I'm taking my own lunch break so I can see you and meet your friend."

"Hey, Ruby." Cherry nodded her head.

"Who's this?" Ruby asked, seeing an unfamiliar face beside the perky goth.

"This is Cathleen Ross," Cherry replied. "She's a werewolf."

"Cherry..." Cathleen complained.

"Hey, she was gonna know about that anyway." Cherry defended.

"I thought I smelled something familiar," Ruby said to Cathleen. "I have a nose for details and so does my granny."

"Don't worry; I'm not one of those evil werewolves," Cathleen then told Ruby. "I'm one of the good ones."

"Then I'll just have to keep my eye on you." Ruby smirked.

Cathleen just grinned sheepishly to that.

"I can already tell," Ruby said to Cathleen. "At least you're not like my mother."

"What happened to her?" Cathleen asked.

"Long story," Ruby sighed and shook her head. "Back when I was Red Riding Hood in The Enchanted Forest, she found me and told me about how important it was that I keep up my wolf legacy, but I learned how to control it and I don't really like to eat anyone unless they piss me off too much."

"Which is hard because Ruby gets angry easily, but not as much as her granny especially when she makes that inedible meatloaf." Cherry smirked.

"I know just how you feel." Cathleen said to her fellow werewolf.

"Ruby... Have you seen anyone suspicious?" Cherry asked.

Ruby glanced at her before glancing out the window to the pawnshop with a shrug.

"Besides him!" Cherry rolled her eyes.

"Oh... Well, no, not really," Ruby replied. "Aside from these people who just suddenly showed up from Cartoon Network. Granny and I have been looking after the Powerpuff Girls since they don't know about their superpowers."

"We saw Bubbles and Buttercup in the diner, but not Blossom." Cathleen said.

"Blossom isn't in the Work-Study program, she's usually in school all day and sometimes she helps Belle out at the library after school." Ruby said.

"Work-Study?" Cathleen asked.

"Yeah, you know, sometimes in schools, you can leave to do a job during school or you can stay and study," Ruby replied. "Bubbles and Buttercup signed up and Granny let them be waitresses so they don't end up as 'Two Broke Powerpuff Girls' if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I get that." Cathleen said.

"Blossom's just more successful than her sisters right now," Ruby said to them. "I don't know what we're going to do."

"Well, I guess there's always another option," Cherry shrugged. "We go to the library."

"Maybe you ought to do that," Ruby suggested. "Storybrooke's library has a lot of unique and magical books on special shelves. Belle told me about that."

"Yeah, I've found some too back when I lived here for a year before I ran away." Cherry nodded.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Cathleen replied, about to get up from her seat.

"I thought you were gonna eat lunch first?" Cherry reminded.

"Oh, right." Cathleen said as her stomach began to growl which made her blush.

Granny came by to see them.

"I'll just take the fish and chips with cola and they'll have the steak specials." Cherry said to the old woman without looking.

Granny glanced over at her granddaughter.

"Yeah, steak is good, Granny," Ruby replied. "Anything but that meatloaf."

Granny rolled her eyes before she walked off again.

"So I guess after lunch, we'll check out the library," Cherry said. "I used to work there when I lived here."

"Okay, sounds good," Cathleen nodded. "I'm so hungry... I could go for some steak or maybe even meatloaf."

"Don't eat the meatloaf." Cherry and Ruby warned.

"Why not?" Cathleen asked.

"Trust me, you will regret it, be thankful Cherry ordered steak for you," Ruby warned. "And I should know, I'd been eating Granny's cooking all my life."

"Well, okay, if you say so." Cathleen shrugged.

Granny came back with their drinks and walked off again.

"At least that mayor lady seemed nice." Cathleen said.

"Yeah, lucky for you and Cherry, you didn't get to see Regina back when she was still acting like The Evil Queen." Ruby said to her.

"Even though she and a lot of other people thought I did stuff I didn't do..." Cherry narrowed her eyes. "So, Ruby... Do you have any thoughts about this Cartoon Network situation?"

Ruby just shrugged. "Aliens... We haven't faced aliens before." she then suggested.

"I've met aliens before," Cherry remarked. "...You don't wanna know."

"That's just my guess," Ruby replied. "I'm not sure because I doubt my mother's pack would be back after what happened with me and Peter."

"I haven't met your mother, but based on what Granny's told me, I don't want to," Cherry rolled her eyes. "Plus I sorta doubt that this is aliens."

"Maybe your boyfriend's turning evil again." Ruby said.

"...He wouldn't do that," Cherry narrowed her eyes. "Richard doesn't do those sort of things anymore."

"Even though he's a little bit creepy." Cathleen commented.

"That's how Cherry likes it." Ruby smirked.

"Shut up." Cherry rolled her eyes.

Their food soon came and they all began to eat up.

"So, Ruby, since you're a Lycan, do you go out every night?" Cathleen asked.

"I don't need to around here, usually my nights going out are getting drinks with Mary Margaret and friends," Ruby said. "We usually have to look out for villains from other lands like when Regina's mother The Queen of Hearts came here."

"I have to, especially during the full moon." Cathleen replied.

"What a stereotype..." Ruby rolled her eyes.

"I guess it's because her family's old-fashioned," Cherry shrugged. "Hopefully the library has an answer because I won't be able to concentrate on dinner if we don't get to the bottom of this mystery."

"So... You're going with them to dinner..." Ruby said. "Belle's really looking forward to that."

"I'm sure she is," Cherry said with a sigh. "I'm not one to break promises with those I love and care about."

"And what am I supposed to do while you have dinner with them?" Cathleen asked.

"Maybe you could hang out with me?" Ruby offered. "Maybe you'd like to get to know each other a little better?"

"I would like that." Cathleen smiled.

"Watch it, Ruby!" Granny warned from the kitchen.

"I'm just being social, Granny!" Ruby defended. "I'm not gonna be a tease!"

"She says now, but when I'm not around and hanging around Muriel Bagge and Martha Foster, that's another story." Granny grumbled to herself.

Ruby rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"I see some things haven't changed much." Cherry smirked at Ruby.

"Nope, not at all." Ruby giggled not-so-innocently.

"So... After lunch, we'll go to the library, then after that... I dunno..." Cherry shrugged.

"I just can't believe that _you_ have a daughter." Cathleen said to Cherry.

"You do too apparently." Cherry rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, that's another weird thing," Ruby said. "These kids are being looked after by Mother Superior and the other nuns and they look a lot like these Cartoon Network people. I guess they're from the future."

"I don't suppose you've seen those three missing kids we were told about, have you, Ruby?" Cherry soon asked.

"I couldn't tell ya." Ruby replied.

"Great..." Cherry rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Ruby said. "I'm sure you'll figure something out though eventually."

"I hope so because this is driving me crazy," Cherry complained as she sat back in her seat. "I've had enough chaos and misfortune in Wonderland, thank you very much."

Granny then came back to give the girls their lunch. The girls then began to eat their lunch before they would do anything else outside of the diner.

"I'm sure you'll find out what's going on soon," Ruby said to them. "I'd say either aliens or someone really dumb and selfish... Who do we know who's dumb and selfish?"

"Stuart Snyder?" Cathleen shrugged as she ate her steak.

"Be realistic." Ruby smirked.

"Whale..." Cherry narrowed her eyes.

"Whale?" Cathleen asked.

"Dr. Whale... Also known as Dr. Frankenstein..." Cherry glared as she shook her fists. "I hate that bug-eyed freak... He makes me sick just looking at him..." she then smirked. "Though it's always fun whenever something bad happens to him... I think I'll go talk to him after we go to the library."

* * *

The girls then got up after eating and sitting for a little while.

"Hey, Ruby?" Granny called. "You wanna help your poor old grandmother with some dishes?"

"Uh, thanks, Granny, but I sorta promised Cherry and Cathleen I'd hang out with them," Ruby grinned innocently as she hugged both girls with separate arms. "Right, guys?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess." Cathleen said.

"Spoilsport," Granny rolled her eyes. "But you gotta help wash them in the dinner shift."

"Sure, Granny, I'll do that." Ruby smirked as she left the diner with the younger two.

"Kids these days." Granny sighed sharply.

"I'm in my 20's!" Ruby reminded her grandmother.

"My point still stands!" Granny called back.

* * *

Cherry soon led the way to the library, though she glared at the ground as she looked very annoyed.

"Cherry, slow down," Cathleen said as she and Ruby followed after. "We can't keep up with you."

"Then catch up," Cherry replied firmly. "I just wanna get to the bottom of this mystery and maybe return to my old life if you don't mind."

"Cherry, there's no need to be rude..." Ruby said.

Cherry heaved a sharp sigh. "I'm sorry, Ruby, I'm just a little stressed," she then said. "I can't count the reasons why I should stay in Storybrooke, this is why I went back to Greendale when I had the chance and had my memories erased."

"Even if you left your new family?" Ruby asked.

Cherry then suddenly stopped in her tracks as she glanced away.

"I know it was rough for you," Ruby said as she came beside the perky goth, cupping her face with both hands as they looked into each other's eyes. "But you can still help out around here. We'll really miss you after you solve the mystery of Cartoon Network, but I'm sure it'll be okay. We're all family here, you know that."

"Yeah..." Cherry narrowed her eyes. "Except for Whale."

"Yes, Cherry, we all understand how you feel about him," Ruby smirked. "I think you might get your chance to scare him straight very soon."

"I'd love to send him to the hospital, but he's the only doctor in town, so I guess if he got terribly injured, he'd be screwed." Cherry smirked back.

The two shared a light laugh on that while Cathleen just stood in the background.

* * *

Eventually, the trio came into the library. 

"So, Velma, do you have any plans tonight?" Belle asked her book stocking partner as she organized a couple of shelves with a certain smart girl from Mystery Inc. 

"Oh, I don't know," Velma shrugged as she helped out. "I was working on a special formula for a few weeks, but I just can't get a certain ingredient right. I don't suppose you could help me, do you?"

"Oh, I would, but I don't think I'm smart enough," Belle replied. "What's the ingredient?"

"It's the velocity of some mulscultion; I can't get it just right," Velma explained. "Do you think you could help?"

Belle grinned nervously. "...Gee, Velma, I'd love to, but I'm afraid I have no idea what you just said and I read in both English and French." she then politely declined.

"Oh... That's all right, Belle, at least you tried," Velma sighed. "I suppose I could spend some extra time in the research lab. It's a very important experiment I'm working on for Mr. Bravo."

"I think you fancy him." Belle smirked playfully.

"I-I do not!" Velma blushed suddenly.

Belle giggled as she kept stocking up the books that were supposed to go in certain places. Eventually, the two smart girls saw that they had some company.

"Ruby, hello," Belle smiled. "And hello, Cherry and Cathleen. Good to see you two again."

"Hey, guys," Cherry said as Cathleen looked wide-eyed at Velma like a fangirl. "I don't suppose we could hang out here and do a little research for... A special project?"

"Of course not, go on ahead," Velma smiled before seeing Cathleen. "Um... Hi?"

"Wow! I can't believe I'm actually meeting Velma Dinkley from the Mystery Inc!" Cathleen beamed. "This is such an honor!"

Cherry then slit her throat with her finger as though to warn Cathleen not to mention that for obvious reasons.

"Mystery... Inc?" Velma asked Cathleen. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't follow... Have we met?"

"Oh... Uh... Well... Um..." Cathleen stammered nervously.

"I told them about you when I was with Richard earlier," Belle covered up for the sake of the girls. "I told them that you help out at the library. Cherry and Cathleen are visitors in Storybrooke City."

"Oh... Okay then," Velma replied. "Well, welcome to the library. I'm Velma, as you know obviously, and this is Belle."

"We've met, yes," Cherry nodded. "We're also here with Ruby."

"Sup?" Ruby waved with a small smirk.

"Well, have a good visit," Velma said to Cherry and Cathleen. "If you need anything, you can just ask me or Belle."

"Thanks." The girls replied as Velma walked away.

"Sorry... I guess I forgot about the memory thing... Kinda ironic, huh?" Cathleen spoke up.

"That's okay, Cathleen," Belle replied. "I'm sure it was frustrating for the others too, especially for Rumple when I thought I was a hardcore partying girl named Lacey."

"But it was funny how Whale whistled at you and Rumple made him fall to the ground and was about to step on his face." Cherry smirked, looking a bit mischievous and sadistic.

"Cherry!" Cathleen gasped. "I thought you hated it when innocent people got tortured."

"Innocent? Whale?" Cherry scoffed as she rolled her eyes. "Please... As long as that guy is suffering from some sort of horrible, funny situation, I'm fine. He's a real jerk."

"Is he really that bad?" Cathleen asked.

"I could tell you a lot of reasons why and how, but I don't have a whole lot of time to get into all of that," Cherry replied before smirking. "Though, I'm a fair punching bag owner... If Whale ever comes along and I feel like messing around with him, I give him a bit of a warning... Kinda like in the Disney version of Peter Pan when the crocodile comes by and you hear the 'tick-tock, tick-tock' sound."

Cathleen just felt disturbed to see this side of her friend. 

"Yeah... Though I dated him once," Ruby remarked. "So, Cherry, what are you trying to look for in the library exactly?" 

"Hopefully and maybe a history of Cartoon Network," Cherry explained as she adjusted her glasses. "Henry had a book that had stories based on what happened in the Enchanted Forest before Emma was sent away, perhaps I can find a book like that to see what happened to the characters and how they ended up here with you guys."

"...That might be crazy enough to work." Cathleen said thoughtfully.

"Nice idea, Cherry." Ruby added, sounding impressed.

"Thanks," Cherry nodded at them. "Now, let's try to see if we can find such a book."

Ruby and Cathleen nodded in agreement and they soon took off to look around for a certain book. Belle and Velma continued to work as Belle looked thoughtful and hopeful for Cherry and Cathleen's efforts while Velma just worked obliviously. For a while, the girls were looking through various selections, unable to find the specific book they were looking for and Cherry soon felt distracted as something else suddenly came up.

* * *

"Ah, Mrs. Gold, Miss Dinkley, how are you this afternoon?" A certain man smirked as he arrived.

"Who's the weirdo with the bad haircut?" Cathleen asked.

"That would be Dr. Victor Whale," Ruby replied. "The only doctor in all of Storybrooke."

"And where did Cherry go?" Cathleen then asked, seeing the seat next to her was suddenly empty.

"I think she's about to have some fun." Ruby said knowingly.

"Dr. Whale," Belle greeted softly. "Can we help you with anything?"

"I just thought I'd come say hello," Whale stated innocently and calmly. "Slow business day, isn't it, girls?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess so." Velma said nervously.

"I was just wondering if anyone would like to join me for a night at the new theater?" Whale offered. "I'll pay for snacks provided I have some company."

"I'm sorry, Dr. Whale, but I'm very busy tonight with my family." Belle said, emphasizing the word 'family' so that he would take the hint.

"Uh, yeah, and I'm doing a research project for Mr. Bravo." Velma added with a nod.

"Oh... That's too bad..." Whale frowned before tutting. "I was hoping we could just have... Some... Fun... And..." his words then began to falter as he heard the sound of what sounded like 'tick-tock' as someone began to approach him from behind before he chuckled nervously. "No, no, that's silly. I must be hearing things."

"What do you mean?" Belle asked.

"I just thought I heard a certain song," Whale chuckled sheepishly. "But I couldn't have... Our special friend from outside of Storybrooke couldn't be around here... Could she?"

Belle and Velma glanced at each other, though Belle seemed to smirk a little bit.

"W-What...?" Whale asked them weakly and nervously. "What's funny? What's going on and why do I smell honeysuckle lotion?"

"Over here~" A voice greeted from behind.

Whale looked wide-eyed and pale in the face before he slowly turned around and faced Cherry who looked up at him due to his higher height.

"Hello, Icky Vicky~" Cherry greeted as she flashed him a toothy grin.

"Cherry... L-Long time no see... I-I was just leaving..." Whale grinned nervously before he bolted right out the door, panicking as he dashed off as quickly as possible.

"They always run..." Cherry smirked as she kicked the library door open and went to chase him.

"My God!" Cathleen gasped as she ran to the door with Ruby and faced the other girl. "I don't think I've ever seen her act like this way before."

"I should've just eaten him like my last boyfriend." Ruby grumbled.

"Wait, what?" Cathleen asked.

* * *

Whale kept running as fast as his legs could carry as he looked scared to death and too terrified to even look back or where he was going. He pushed and shoved some people out of the way, quickly apologizing as he kept trying to look for places to hide. He soon skidded on his feet before he soon turned one wrong way and ended up in a dark alley and panted heavily. "Shit! ...Dead end... I'm a goner..." he then groaned. "What did I do this time?"

"Icky Vicky... Storybrooke's only doctor... Also known as Dr. Frankenstein..." Cherry greeted as she came into the dark alley as her shadow came to life and snuck over behind Whale and got down on its hands and knees right behind him as she approached him, stepping forward. 

Whale whimpered and stepped back nervously before he suddenly tripped over from the shadow. Cherry's shadow then grabbed him by his shoulders and lifted him high up and off of the ground, restraining him strongly so that he couldn't escape from her.

"Mind if I ask you a few questions, old friend?" Cherry smirked. 

"Look, if this is about what happened before you left town, it won't happen again!" Whale told her, sounding scared to death while glaring at her as bravely as possible. 

"No, no, it's not about that," Cherry replied sinisterly as he was brought to her face briefly before she stroked his face with a finger, making him shudder slightly. "It's about... Cartoon Network~" 


	6. Chapter 5

"Should we catch up with Cherry?" Cathleen asked Ruby.

"If you want, but she might be a little scary for your liking." Ruby warned.

"I've known Cherry for a long time," Cathleen nodded. "...Well, maybe not as long as Atticus has at least."

"Well, she's changed a bit since she came around Storybrooke..." Ruby said. "Like finding out who her parents actually are."

There was soon the sound of a high-pitched scream in the alley.

"Cherry!" Cathleen yelped and ran toward the dark alley and Ruby went after her.

"Cathleen, wait!" Ruby cried out.

* * *

"All right, Whale," Cherry smirked as she was shown to be using a shadow to dangle Whale by his ankle very high up in the air. "I'll ask you one more time... Why are you doing this to the Cartoon Network people? What will you strike next? Nickelodeon? Disney? PBS? Discovery Kids?"

"I told you, it's not me, Cherry!" Whale begged. "Now put me down and let me go!"

"Hmm... Nah..." Cherry smirked before she made the shadow let go of Whale and made him fall into an ACME Dumpster. "TALK!" she then snapped as Cathleen and Ruby made it into the alley.

"Cherry, stop this, please!" Cathleen begged.

The shadow soon came to life and grabbed Whale before throwing him up in the air as he screamed. Cherry grinned darkly as she watched that, relishing in his misfortune.

"Cherry! This isn't you!" Cathleen said, putting her hands on her friend's shoulders, making them look at each other. "Cherry!"

Cherry glared at her at first before looking soft. "Cath...?" she asked softly as Whale screamed in the background as he was being dragged around and tossed in the air by two other shadows like a toy ball.

"Cherry, what did we talk about?" Ruby asked.

Cherry sighed and shook her head. "I guess I'll have to talk to Gold about this..." she then said.

"So, did Dr. Whale know anything?" Ruby asked.

"No, I guess he didn't..." Cherry shrugged. "I guess I should let him go."

Whale was still screaming in the background as he was being terrorized.

"In a few hours." Cherry then smirked.

"Cherry..." Ruby warned firmly.

Ruby narrowed her eyes before they turned golden briefly.

"Aw, fine..." Cherry groaned before she snapped her fingers.

The shadows soon disappeared and Whale was screaming and falling through the air. Cherry then walked off for a moment and pulled out a trampoline and Whale soon landed hard on it and bounced a few times before groaning and sighing in relief.

"I think my heart just jumped into my throat..." Whale groaned as he tried to calm himself down.

"All right then, I guess I could go to try to look for that book at the library again." Cherry then shrugged as she walked off ahead of Ruby and Cathleen.

"I think that's a good idea." Cathleen replied as they walked away.

Whale groaned in agony as he slowly came off of the trampoline and cracked his back, going over to the hospital. He looked to be in deep pain and distress.

* * *

The girls soon came back into the library, hoping to find a book on The History of Cartoon Network. 

"So, I guess Mystery Inc doesn't exist anymore?" Cathleen asked. "That sounds rough."

"Yes, without Shaggy, Velma, Daphne, Fred, and Scooby-Doo solving mysteries, it feels wrong," Ruby replied. "Sorta like how we once had Sherlock Holmes back in our original Storybrooke."

"Sherlock Holmes too?" Cathleen asked.

"Basically, any fictional story you can think of in the world has been in Storybrooke," Cherry told Cathleen. "Like Whale being Frankenstein, Ruby was Little Red Riding Hood, Belle was Beauty from _Beauty and the Beast_..."

"I think I can guess who her beast was..." Cathleen remarked.

"Yeah, genius..." Cherry rolled her eyes slightly.

"Any ideas once we find out what happened to Cartoon Network?" Ruby asked Cherry.

"The best idea I've got is that we round up as many classic characters as we can and take down whoever caused this mess," Cherry said. "I also doubt that Rumple did it. He promised me he'd be good and he'd help me control my own darkness."

"I think you should ask for help on that again," Ruby advised. "You could've killed Dr. Whale."

"Would that really be so terrible?" Cherry shrugged bashfully.

Cathleen and Ruby both gave her a firm look.

"Okay, I guess it would be..." Cherry then narrowed her eyes.

Belle soon came by with a small smile. "Can I help you ladies find anything special?" she then asked.

"Just a book about the history of... Uh... Well... Them..." Cherry said before whispering as she gestured to Velma when she said "them".

"...I suppose I could take you somewhere," Belle replied. "In the forbidden section... Like where we keep the Stephen King novels so that the kids don't find them and get scared."

"Belle, you can trust me," Cherry reminded. "We lived together for almost a full year."

"Yes, Cherry, I remember," Belle said before she went to take the others over to a top-secret location in the library and soon moved a framed portrait of a famous author from long ago, tilting its frame a bit which triggered a bookcase to open up right in front of them like in an old horror movie. "Before you vanished."

Cherry swallowed thickly before nodding. Eventually, after the bookcase was opened, the women stepped inside and the bookcase closed behind them. Velma looked around as she thought she heard something before shrugging and she glanced out the window to see Johnny Bravo doing his usual thing, though he seemed to have a hammer like Thor from The Avengers and she sighed dreamily at the sight of him.

* * *

The four were soon in an underground room which had a collection of dusty old books that looked like they hadn't been touched in over 20 years.

"Where did those books come from?" Cherry asked.

"A place called Paranormal Bookstore," Belle replied. "I think it might be from where the classic characters came from. I even asked Rumple to do a bit of research on them for me. There should be what you're looking for in there."

"Let's see..." Cherry said as she came to check the collection of books that were all very different.

_The Witch's Ghost of Oakhaven by Ben Ravencroft_

_The Scare-Your-Pants-Off book series by E. A. DePoe_

_The Glowing by William Denbrough_

_Horrendously Horrible Happenings by Persimmony Glitchet_

_The History of Cartoon Network by Anonymous_

"There it is!" Cherry said as she swiped a book right off of the shelf. It was mostly yellow colored and had black and white checkers on it around the words "Cartoon Network".

"Well, that was easy." Cathleen had to admit.

"You can read it for a while unless you want to check it out and do research on what you're looking for," Belle said to them. "Which will it be?"

"Yeah, we'll borrow this book for right now," Cherry replied. "It might be good to keep around for a while."

"Like Henry's old storybook from school." Ruby added.

"Yeah, like that." Cherry nodded.

* * *

Eventually, Belle brought them back up to the upper ground of the bookstore and they had to stop as Johnny and Velma were talking as Velma did her best to keep cool and calm around the muscleman she had strong feelings for. At least in this timeline.

"So, when do you think that formula you made for me will be ready?" Johnny asked.

"Oh, I don't know, hopefully soon," Velma replied bashfully. "I'll be at the Research Lab though if you happen to come by. I'm sure that you'll like it, Johnny."

"Excellent," Johnny nodded before he left the library. "Well, see ya!"

"Lost in the world of books with no interest in them," Belle sighed a bit. "Just reminds me of my arranged marriage to Gaston before I met Rumple."

"Oh, hi, Belle," Velma said as she looked over to the woman who gave a small smile. "Where'd you run off to?"

"I had to help these people find a book they were looking for, but I'm going to help them check out right now if you don't mind." Belle informed with a small smile.

"No, not at all, you saw them first." Velma nodded.

Eventually, Belle helped Cherry, Cathleen, and Ruby check out the book as Ruby used her library card to help the former two check the book out. Belle did the usual "Have a nice day!" and the book would be due back in two weeks, hoping that would be enough time for them to use it for whatever they would need before letting them go and they soon left the library. 

"See you at dinner, Cherry," Belle smiled at the perky goth. "I'm really looking forward to it. Ruby, would you and Dorothy mind coming by to look after Aurelia for dinner tonight?"

"Sure, I wouldn't mind that," Ruby replied before looking at Cathleen. "Is that alright with you too?"

"Babysitting?" Cathleen asked before shrugging. "Well, I guess that would be fine... I have two young nieces that are a handful."

"Oh, Aurelia won't be much trouble," Belle smiled warmly. "She's usually pretty calm and quiet and playing with her dolls."

"Well, okay then," Cathleen said. "See ya, Belle."

"Yeah, see ya at dinner." Cherry added as they left the library.

Belle smiled warmly and soon walked off.

"Speaking of Dorothy..." Ruby muttered as she took out her phone and began to text someone.

"Dorothy?" Cathleen asked Cherry.

"Dorothy Gale," Cherry replied. "As in Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz. Ruby's girlfriend."

"Ohh... Okay then..." Cathleen said, nodding in understanding. "I guess that shouldn't surprise me."

"I like to call them RubySlippers sometimes." Cherry then smirked.

Ruby playfully rolled her eyes as she texted her girlfriend. "I'll see if she either wants to help babysit or if we should cancel our Game Night," she then said before smirking. "We play a mean game of Candyland together."

"You play Candyland?" Cathleen asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ruby smirked with a light chuckle as she nodded. 

"Come on, Cathleen, let's do some thinking." Cherry said as they walked off together.

"You guys do that," Ruby nodded as she walked off. "I should probably check on Dorothy."

The three women then split up with Cherry and Cathleen going into the park and sitting on the nearby bench as the waves splashed in the background from the beach that wasn't too far from the playground and main town square.

* * *

"Now, let's see..." Cherry began as she cracked open The History of Cartoon Network book that they got from the library. " _'A very long time ago back on October 1st, 1992, a world called Toonatopia was starting development and scattered many worlds together far away from the real world back on Planet Earth. A tribe of people called The Hanna-Barberas entered the atmosphere into their own section of the world claiming it as their own after being conceived by the great men known as William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Their tribe dates back to December 1957 with the introduction of **The Ruff & Reddy Show**'_."

"Yeah, yeah, get to the good part," Cathleen said. "Where does it say what happened to Cartoon Network that sent all of the classic characters into Storybrooke City?"

"Just a minute," Cherry told her as she skimmed through the pages. " _'In 1992, when the Hanna-Barbera tribe was wearing thin on their customs and traditions, the world decided to have more original visitors into their world and thus created the tribe of **What A Cartoon!** where original characters would come from and some would be given a chance to deem themselves worthy, branching from Sledgehammer O'Possum, Pizza Boy, Larry & Steve, and more' starting in February 20th, 1995'_."

"I remember the _What a Cartoon_ adventure we once had that Drell sent us on," Cathleen remarked. "We met all of them and helped them get their happy endings."

"Yes, I remember that too," Cherry replied. " _'Sadly, not all were successes and the lucky ones were the citizens of Cartoon Network known as Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup Utonium, Dexter: Boy Genius, Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, Courage, Sheep, Robot Jones, and Mike, Lu, and Og," she then decided to read ahead a little bit. "'In May of 2007, there was an alien invasion that started after a group of aliens had witnessed the defeat of The Brocoloids from The Powerpuff Girls with the use of Kraft Cheese to take down the vegetable aliens and the other aliens decided cheese was the most powerful substance in the universe and they had to come down and take some with a select few of agents in disguise to help gain this substance somehow visiting worlds such as the Peach Creek cul-de-sac, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Endsville, Camp Kidney, Acorn Flats, and Charles Darwin Middle School'_."

"Aliens?" Cathleen asked.

"Huh... I guess Ruby was right..." Cherry shrugged before she heard her phone go off and she checked it to see a text from Ruby that said: ** _I told ya so! ;P_**

"Maybe that's what happened..." Cathleen guessed. "Aliens invaded Cartoon Network City... What else does it say?"

Cherry turned the page to find out more only to get distracted.

"Looks like you guys are living up to your promise." Dylan said, appearing from nowhere as he stood with Eve and Henry.

"You're gonna become the Toon Saviors." Henry added.

"Kids! What the hell?!" Cherry complained. "...Why aren't you in school?"

"This is more important than our education," Dylan replied. "We told you something had changed in our world."

"Yeah, well, we're reading about it right now," Cherry reminded. "You guys had alien invaders apparently."

"Yeah, starting in May 4th, 2007," Dylan memorized. "Those aliens were trying to take everybody's cheese."

"So we've heard..." Cathleen rolled her eyes. "Aliens are weird."

"Believe me, I know." Cherry mumbled in deadpan.

"So, are you gonna do more work tonight?" Henry asked.

"I guess we'll have to see," Cathleen shrugged. "Apparently Cherry has a dinner date tonight and I have to babysit that Aurelia kid."

"Hey, you wanted to hang out with Ruby and she usually babysits for everybody," Cherry defended. "But yes... It might be time to take a break... I need time to process all of this... Weird Cartoon Network history stuff."

"I guess that's fair, but don't take too long," Dylan replied. "The one responsible could be right under our noses."

The others in the park simply nodded to that. Someone came out from the dark alley, looking right at them and narrowing their eyes mysteriously. This new mystery was only the beginning of a brand new adventure. 


	7. Chapter 6

Some time had passed as Cherry and Cathleen met back up with Ruby.

"All right, well, I guess I'm gonna try to find out more about Cartoon Network somehow after some dinner and maybe dessert too." Cherry said to Ruby and Cathleen before she walked off.

"Come on, Cath; I'll take you to meet Dorothy." Ruby invited.

"Okay," Cathleen nodded. "Have fun on your date, Cherry." she then told her friend.

"...It's not a date..." Cherry muttered as she walked off.

"Whatever you say." Cathleen shrugged innocently.

The two then split up as Cherry walked off, taking a deep breath on the way over.

"So, you and Dorothy, huh?" Cathleen asked Ruby.

"Ever since we met in the Enchanted Forest," Ruby nodded. "I saved her life."

"From the Wicked Witch?" Cathleen guessed.

"Yes, I had to track Dorothy down in the Underworld and save her with Mulan's help," Ruby nodded. "I kissed her awake with the Munchkins watching, I felt like Prince Charming with Snow White and the Dwarves back then."

"All these fairy tales... My life was simple before we ended up here and I had a regular job." Cathleen shook her head.

"Believe me, a lot of new people get like that," Ruby smirked. "You'll get used to it though."

"So where does Dorothy live?" Cathleen asked.

"We have our own place up ahead," Ruby replied. "It's small for now, but it's home."

"Sounds nice." Cathleen said on the way.

"Yeah, it can be," Ruby smiled. "I wanna have a puppy or two someday."

"Puppy...?" Cathleen asked.

"You know... Raise a child..." Ruby beamed. "I think I'd be a pretty great mom."

"I've always wondered what it would be like to raise a child." Cathleen commented.

"You think you might wanna have a family too someday?" Ruby asked on the way back to her house.

"Y-Yeah, with my boyfriend, Rex and he told me that he wants to become a werewolf like me, but he needs to understand the consequences though," Cathleen said softly. "I don't know what to do."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked. "I don't see the problem... Dorothy's not a werewolf and we get along just fine. My last boyfriend... Well... That's another story for another day... But what seems to be the problem?"

"Well, Rex is an EVO which means he has nanites in him causing turning his body into weapons," Cathleen explained. "I'm worried that if I do bite him what could happen? Will my wolf blood and nanites will do major harm in him?"

"Well... I wouldn't know about anything like that," Ruby shrugged. "I didn't bite Dorothy or my last boyfriend, but we're still happy, but me and Dorothy especially. I think she's my soulmate."

Cathleen shrugged with a small pout.

"I'm sure you'll know what to do eventually," Ruby said as she went to the door and unlocked it. "Like with saving the people from Cartoon Network so they can go home. Storybrooke was crowded enough already before they started showing up... Dorothy? I'm home!" she then called out.

"Oh, good, Granny said you decided to take the rest of the afternoon off," A young woman around Ruby's age with long black hair in a blue dress with silver shoes smiled. "I also heard from Belle that we're going to be looking after little Aurelia tonight."

"Yeah, and this is one of my new friends and our guest for the evening: Cathleen Ross." Ruby introduced.

"Ah... One of the Toon Saviors..." Dorothy said.

"Does everybody know about that?" Cathleen asked.

"News travels fast in Storybrooke, almost everybody knows each other," Dorothy smiled. "Hello there, Cathleen. It's nice to meet you. When Belle comes by with Aurelia, we'll work out some dinner plans."

"Sounds good to me." Cathleen smiled back.

Ruby and Dorothy soon shared a kiss with each other and smiled at Cathleen.

"Nice place you got here." Cathleen said as she looked around.

"Yeah... I just had to get away from Granny," Ruby sighed and rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "I love her very much, but I swear, sometimes that woman is just impossible. Especially when I was a little girl, she was always so protective of me and still even treated me like a little kid after I graduated from high school."

"I know the feeling," Cathleen nodded. "My dad is the same way."

"Aunt Em was very protective of me too," Dorothy said softly. "Uncle Henry was too and he gave me Toto since I didn't have any friends back on the farm when we lived in Kansas before I was sent to Oz."

"This Aurelia kid better not be a brat, though I doubt it if Cherry's her mother." Cathleen said.

"No, she's very shy and quiet most of the time, but she loves us," Ruby smiled. "We've looked after her ever since she was a baby."

"And she's very adorable and sweet." Dorothy added.

"Yes, she is, and you will love her." Ruby reassured.

"Guess I'll find out." Cathleen shrugged.

"So you found out more about Cartoon Network's history?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, apparently there was an alien invasion in the Spring of 2007," Cathleen said. "They wanted Kraft cheese?"

"Yeah, because cheese was helped used to defeat The Broccoloids when The Powerpuff Girls faced them," Ruby nodded. "I may not have gone to college, but I'm a lot smarter than I look."

"Wish that I could find out more about it," Cathleen shrugged. "Maybe later on."

"Do you have the book?" Ruby asked.

"Cherry took it after we saw Dylan on the playground," Cathleen explained. "I guess she's gonna ask Gold for more help."

"Makes sense," Ruby nodded. "He knew everything going on back in The Enchanted Forest... He used to be Rumplestiltskin after all and was The Dark One."

"Until Belle helped him redeem himself of course." Dorothy nodded in agreement.

* * *

The girls got settled until the doorbell rang.

"Ruby." Belle smiled as she came at the door, holding the young girl's hand.

"Come on in, Belle," Ruby smiled before looking down at Aurelia. "Hi there, cutie pie! Ready to hang out with your favorite Aunt Ruby and Aunt Dorothy?"

Aurelia smiled back as she walked inside, dragging her doll behind her.

"If I'm not back by 7:00, you should probably keep her overnight since her bedtime's 8:30," Belle said to Ruby. "I'm not sure how this dinner will go... Is that okay?"

"That's fine, Belle," Ruby smiled. "We love having her over."

"And don't worry, we will help keep an eye on her." Dorothy added.

"I know you will," Belle smiled before she hugged Aurelia. "See you soon, dear... Be a good girl."

Aurelia smiled back, hugging her. "Bye, Aunty Belle..." she said softly.

Belle smiled, kissing the girl on her forehead and she soon stepped out of the house to get back home. Aurelia soon looked at Cathleen, staring at her for a while as she hugged her doll.

"Um... Hi, there," Cathleen said to the young girl. "I'm Cathleen."

Aurelia just looked at Cathleen.

"...You don't talk much, do you?" Cathleen asked.

"She's shy," Ruby said to Cathleen. "She just has to get to know you first. Why don't you play with her?"

"Okay..." Cathleen shrugged as she sat down with Aurelia. "That's a nice doll... What's her name?"

"M-Milah..." Aurelia said softly as she hugged the doll. "I've had her forever."

"I remember when I was little I had a stuffed panda named Mr. Fuzzy," Cathleen sighed with a nostalgic smile. "My dad gave it to me on my 2nd birthday."

Aurelia had a small smile.

"What does Milah like to do?" Cathleen asked.

"Watch _Lambchop_ , _Blue's Clues_ , and _Big Comfy Couch_ on TV..." Aurelia said as she looked down at the floor. "Sometimes we color together before dinner. She really loves stories that Papa and Aunt Belle read to us."

"That's good," Cathleen smiled. "I think you and me will get along just fine."

Aurelia smiled back at her and walked over and sat on the couch, hugging her doll.

"Sweet girl," Cathleen said. "So, is there gonna be steak for dinner?"

"If you would like, just remember to eat other things too, not just steak," Ruby said. "It's not healthy."

"I'm a meatarian." Cathleen said.

"Yes, I like a lot of meat too, but you should eat other foods and maybe not eat it raw," Ruby advised. "That's not what I have to do anyway and I just love Dorothy's farm-fresh cooking. You'll see, Cathleen, you don't have to eat bloody meat all the time. I mean, I don't and Granny doesn't."

"Huh, I never knew that," Cathleen shrugged. "I guess I was just raised wrong."

"You make it sound like you have to live in the old monster movies like when Dr. Whale came from The Land Without Color as Dr. Frankenstein," Ruby rolled her eyes. "Can't believe I dated that idiot."

Aurelia soon laid down on the floor and colored in her coloring book with her doll beside her.

"Luckily we're better cooks than Tony." Ruby giggled to Dorothy as they went to cook dinner.

 _'Those girls have got a point,'_ Cathleen thought to herself. _'Maybe I should try to live my life a little differently for a change.'_

Ruby and Dorothy began to get dinner ready while Aurelia colored.

"So, do you know who Cherry is?" Cathleen asked curiously.

"Maybe... I dunno..." Aurelia shrugged as she colored in her book. "Papa and Aunt Belle have said that name before though."

"Do you know what Cartoon Network is then?" Cathleen asked.

"Uh-uh..." Aurelia shook her head. "Henry and his friends talk 'bout it, but I dunno anything about it."

"Oh, okay then, I see." Cathleen said.

"Are you from around here?" Aurelia then asked.

"No, I'm from out of town." Cathleen said.

"I lived here all my life like Henry," Aurelia smiled as she kept coloring. "I wish I could live in the books that Aunty Belle reads me at storytime."

Cathleen smiled politely before she went to see Ruby and Dorothy in the kitchen.

"She must like you," Dorothy said. "She's usually shy around new people... That's why she barely talks in public."

"I like her too," Cathleen replied. "She's a cute kid."

"I just hope no more dark curses or spells happen while she's still young," Ruby frowned. "It might scare her."

"Are there any villains to look out for around here?" Cathleen asked.

"Well, right now, it's quiet, so we haven't had to need to stop any villains, even the villains from Cartoon Network are barely doing anything, but I just hope it's nothing from The Enchanted Forest," Dorothy said. "Like Zelena, who you might know as The Wicked Witch of the West."

"Or any of the former villains turning evil again like Mr. Gold becoming Rumplestiltskin or Regina turning back into the Evil Queen," Ruby added. "That could bad for everyone."

"I just have to wonder who would do this?" Cathleen pondered out loud. "Hmm..."

"Don't tell Cherry, but I think Gold's behind it." Ruby said.

"Yeah?" Cathleen asked.

"He's a very dark man and scares everybody," Ruby said. "Especially when he comes by to collect rent. He wouldn't hurt a woman or a little kid, but he can be pretty brutal when he wants to be."

"Oh, don't worry; I won't say anything." Cathleen promised.

"Yeah, she gets mad about that sort of thing..." Ruby nodded. "I hope she's okay tonight."

"It just feels weird that she was gone for almost a whole year and I don't even remember that happening." Cathleen said.

"Yeah, the town line can erase memories, but she asked that fat magic guy to let her memories be restored in only time of a big emergency, and I guess that's helping restore Cartoon Network back to normal so they can have their lives and we can have ours." Ruby nodded as she put dinner in the oven for right now.

"I just hope that we can save Cartoon Network and stop whoever is behind all of this." Cathleen said firmly.

"I'm sure we will get around to that eventually." Ruby reassured.

"I hope that you're right," Cathleen sighed. "I feel hopeless right now."

Eventually, they all sat in the living room together as Cathleen did her best to play with Aurelia.

"Well, you guys are pretty cool to hang out with," Cathleen said to Dorothy and Ruby. "I wish I could've had friends like you in school."

"I didn't have many friends at my granny's place as a kid." Ruby smiled.

"I didn't have many friends either until I went to Oz," Dorothy added. "Until then, it was just me and Toto."

"I didn't have many friends back in school because they didn't like my weirdness." Cathleen said softly.

"Did you go to school with Cherry?" Ruby asked.

"Not until high school when I was transferred into Greendale with them," Cathleen said. "She managed to pull some strings since I had special heritage to get me into special classes."

"At least there was that," Dorothy smiled. "Sounds like your life changed a lot ever since you met this Cherry girl."

"It did and I'm glad that Cherry was there to help me," Cathleen nodded. "If it wasn't for her, I just wouldn't know what I'd do with myself."

"It's always good to have companions like that." Ruby said as she put her arm around Dorothy.

Dorothy smiled and blushed as she rested her head on Ruby's shoulder.

"I hope we have a plan by tomorrow." Cathleen said.

"Me too," Ruby nodded. "Don't get me wrong, I like Bubbles and Buttercup, but I'm sure they'd be happier if they could fight crime instead of being waitresses-in-training."

"Honestly, I can't see them being waitresses," Cathleen nodded. "I'm so used to them fighting crime."

"We all are, but they don't remember anything about Chemical X, Mojo Jojo, or anything like that," Ruby sighed. "It's like our curse where we forgot that we were fairy tale people until we got our memories back."

The phone soon rang suddenly.

"Gale-Lucas residence?" Dorothy answered before beaming. "Just a minute..." she then held out the phone to Cathleen. "Someone wants to talk to you."

"Um... Hi?" Cathleen said as she took the phone.

"Sup?" Cherry greeted on the other line. "I stepped out to get some air, I thought I'd see how you were doing around people you don't know very well."

"It's going great," Cathleen replied. "Ruby, Dorothy, and I are getting along just fine and Aurelia seems to like me too."

"That's nice," Cherry said. "Yeah, Aurelia's a bit shy. She might not be going into school for a long, long time."

"I couldn't find out anything else about this mystery though." Cathleen replied.

"I figured," Cherry said. "So that's why I'm not going to sleep tonight. I'm gonna investigate the streets a bit, maybe I'll see Ruby if she's in the mood... Then I think I might haunt Whale's nightmares."

"What did he ever do to you?" Cathleen asked.

"He knows what he did..." Cherry narrowed her eyes sharply. "Besides... It's always fun to screw with him."

"What did he do that was so bad that makes you wanna make his life a living Hell?" Cathleen asked.

"He hurt someone I deeply cared about..." Cherry said. "Long story."

"You don't think the shadows will get out of control, do you?" Cathleen asked.

"Cath, my parents here aren't anywhere to be found, so I think I'm fine," Cherry said, firmly. "A few days ago, you forgot all about your own powers, so I think I can handle my own, thank you very much."

"Well, okay, I just don't want you to get hurt, that's all," Cathleen said. "I care about you."

"I know what I'm doing..." Cherry said. "Just keep Ruby and Dorothy busy."

"All right..." Cathleen said softly on the other line.

"Don't you want dessert, dearie?!" Gold's voice called out from inside the house.

"Just a minute!" Cherry called back innocently before going back on the phone. "Anyway, Belle's gonna come by with Aurelia's pajamas, she'll have to spend the night. When I'm alone with Rumple, we'll talk about the book."

"Well, okay; I'll see you later." Cathleen then said.

"I'll see you..." Cherry said before hanging up as she stared out into Storybrooke that night with a lot on her mind. After a few moments, she sucked in some air, and soon went to join the others into dessert as she spent time with them as Cathleen was with Ruby, Dorothy, and Aurelia.

* * *

"It's almost Aurelia's bedtime, so I think she should spend the night with Ruby and Dorothy." Belle smiled as she went to get a tiny suitcase and filled it with clothes and toiletries for the young girl.

"That's a good idea, my dear," Gold smiled back before facing the youngest person in the room. "Wouldn't you agree, Cherry?"

"Yeah... She should spend the night..." Cherry said. "Oh, and Belle... Could you pick up some stuff for me at the convenient store?" she then asked, taking out a list on her phone. "I'll text it to you."

"Whatever happened to making lists on paper?" Gold rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Welcome to the 21st century, Grandpastiltskin," Cherry smirked as she texted Belle's phone then. "Now then, these are really important that I have, so keep looking until you find them... Don't hurry back though."

"...Are you trying to get rid of me?" Belle asked suspiciously.

"No... Of course not..." Cherry said innocently as an angel halo appeared above her head. "Why would you think that?"

Belle began to glance at Cherry suspiciously.

"Go... Go... Go see Aurelia..." Cherry urged, pushing Belle out the door with the suitcase and toiletry bag. "Kiss Kiss."

Belle glanced at Cherry before going to the car as the door was shut and locked behind her.

"What's got your knickers in a twist, dearie?" Gold asked Cherry.

"All right, enough formalities... We need to talk about this Cartoon Network fiasco..." Cherry told him. "I found the book, you know everything, so... Let's talk this over with some tea and... My medicine."

"Hmm... Very well," Gold allowed. "After you."

Cherry soon brought out the book to show him.

Gold narrowed his eyes, reaching for it, but she kept it from him. "Where did you get that...?" he asked her.

"I have my sources," Cherry said, jumping out of the way as she held the book close. "What's going on, hmm? Is it Aku? HIM? Mandark? Mojo Jojo?"

"No... None of the Cartoon Network villains..." Gold told her.

"The Queens of Darkness?" Cherry asked, a bit nervous.

"I think it's time for dessert..." Gold smirked before shoving her onto the couch.

"Oof!" Cherry grunted as she landed.

"Now... You just sit there and relax... And then we'll talk..." Gold told her before he walked off into the kitchen.

"Don't make me throw this at you..." Cherry threatened as she held the book.

"You amuse me, Cherry," Gold said with a laugh. "That's what I love about you~"

"Shut up..." Cherry muttered.

"I'll forgive you not to talk to me like that..." Gold smirked as he made some dessert. "Now... How about some fudge? You love fudge."

"Whatever..." Cherry shrugged as she opened the book. "Let's see... What else is there?"

* * *

Belle soon came over to the door of Ruby and Dorothy's house as Dorothy got the door and Cathleen talked with Ruby.

"So you see, you don't need to turn into a wolf just because it's full moon, you can do that whatever you want," Ruby replied. "Does Cherry sleep in a coffin, hate garlic and sunlight, or turn into a bat all the time?"

"Well.. No..." Cathleen admitted softly.

"See?" Ruby replied. "You don't have to give in to stereotypes. Granny told me about what happened after she was bitten and it got a little dark at first, especially when she would try to protect me from others like my old friend from the Enchanted Forest, Peter... But if you want... We can probably go wolf tonight after Aurelia goes to sleep to look for anything weird in town."

"Well... I guess we could... But what about Dorothy?" Cathleen soon asked. "Will she be okay by herself?"

"She'll be fine and if she needs something, she has a special way of getting back to me," Ruby nodded. "Besides, she should stay here and look after Aurelia since it's almost time for bed."

"I guess that's a good point." Cathleen said.

"Good night!" Belle called out to the others. "I'm going now."

"Night, Belle, see ya tomorrow!" Ruby called back.

"Thank you for taking care of Aurelia for us!" Belle smiled as she got to her car.

"It's no problem!" Dorothy smiled back. "Have fun!"

"Kansas?~" Ruby called as Dorothy shut the door.

"Yes?" Dorothy smiled.

"I think I'm gonna do a little wolf run with Cathleen if that's alright with you," Ruby smiled back. "She just wants to run like she used to before her life was taken from her."

"Of course," Dorothy nodded. "You two go out and have fun, but just remember to keep it down when you come back, it's almost 8:30."

"Of course we will." Cathleen said.

"We'll be back, I promise." Ruby cooed to Dorothy.

"Not that you have anything to worry about anymore, especially since Sheriff Graham is long gone, I just want you to be happy and safe." Dorothy smiled.

"You know I will." Ruby smiled back.

"Come on, Aurelia, let's get you in the tub." Dorothy said as she came over to the young girl and scooped her up in her arms.

Ruby soon got the door and went to step outside with Cathleen. "All right," she then said as her eyes glowed into a golden color. "Let's have some fun."

"Right... Let's do it..." Cathleen agreed as her eyes glowed blood red.

The two then turned into wolves and they ran off, away from the house, and decided to have a little fun. Dorothy smiled as she helped Aurelia into the bathtub and began to clean her up.

* * *

"There's a lot more in this town than I thought there was." Cathleen said as they ran into the woods.

"Just don't cross the town line!" Ruby reminded.

"How come?" Cathleen asked.

"If you cross the town line, you'll forget about everything here and even your friend Cherry," Ruby warned. "When we were frozen in time from the first curse that Regina cast on us as The Evil Queen, we couldn't leave and didn't remember who we were before and we found out if we cross the town line now, we'll forget everything again."

Cathleen stopped and looked at her new friend with wide eyes.

"Yes, it's true." Ruby nodded.

"Can't anyone fix that?" Cathleen asked.

"No, not even Mr. Gold, but he thought of a solution once," Ruby said. "If you visit him and give him something very special of yours, he'll put a potion on it and it'll help you keep your memories, but you have to ask him."

"I can tell that he seems like the kind of guy that hates it when rules are broken." Cathleen said.

"Oh, yeah, and especially don't break his favorite teacup or spinning wheel," Ruby warned. "That would end horribly for anyone."

"How horrible?" Cathleen asked.

"You don't want to know... Trust me..." Ruby advised.

"That just makes me wanna find out." Cathleen said.

"Yeah, but you don't," Ruby said. "He might look like a lame old man, but if you get him angry or upset, he can actually be pretty scary."

"Even scarier than Cherry on a bad day?" Cathleen asked.

"He _was_ The Dark One..." Ruby said.

"And that's bad..." Cathleen guessed.

"Yes," Ruby said. "It was first created when Nimue from The Middle Ages in times of King Arthur, Lancelot, and Merlin the Wizard, corrupted her Holy Grail magic by using her powers for evil, which is killing someone. The more Dark Ones are killed and other hosts take its place, the more powerful the Darkness becomes, and, well, it soon consumed Rumplestiltskin who was just the village coward until the darkness corrupted his heart and his life changed forever."

"Oh, my God..." Cathleen muttered.

"Also, do not break into Gold's shop after closing time because he _will_ find you," Ruby said. "Ashley found that out the hard way."

Cathleen was about to ask.

"Ashley used to be Cinderella and she was unwed pregnant teenage mother until she found her Prince Charming and she was able to keep her baby," Ruby explained, already knowing that she would ask. "Luckily she pepper-sprayed him, but he was about to take her baby away and Emma was able to let her keep her baby and reunite with her Prince Charming... Just... Seriously... Don't mess with Mr. Gold or you _will_ regret it. Though at least he wasn't the one who tried to get rid of me when people thought I killed my new friend Billy who was one of her mouse friends in the Enchanted Forest," she then sighed softly. "Luckily I had friends to back me up and we got the accuser out of town while we could and now he's gone forever."

"Mental note: never mess with Gold... Got it." Cathleen gulped.

"He owns the town after all..." Ruby nodded. "I still think he probably did this to the Cartoon Network people. Not to mention those kids that Mother Superior looks after, along with Dylan and Eve since they're homeless."

"Do you think maybe tomorrow I could meet them?" Cathleen asked.

"I guess you could do that on your lunch break," Ruby said. "Gold called Granny to say that you're gonna start working in the diner. I'll teach you some basics as a waitress though."

"I guess it's better than nothing," Cathleen shrugged. "Thanks, Ruby."

"It's a boring job, but someone's gotta do it," Ruby nodded. "I feel like I've been working for Granny my whole life."

"Yeah, I guess you're right on that." Cathleen replied.

"I'm not sure if there's more I can show you around here..." Ruby said as she looked around.

Cathleen looked around before looking in the distance. "Is that a mine?" she then asked.

"Ah... Yes... Now, before you get excited, you won't find treasure in there," Ruby smirked. "That's where Leroy and the other dwarves harvest pixie dust from The Enchanted Forest that gives us our magic... If there's no pixie dust, then there's no magic, then it could be disaster for us all. I don't think it would mean much for the Cartoon Network people though since they were born in their own world without magic after Regina cursed us and sent us here to destroy Snow White and Prince Charming's happiness."

"Oh... I see..." Cathleen said.

* * *

Ruby and Cathleen soon sat on a hill together and looked up at the moon.

"I do hope we can solve this mystery... Even without Mystery Inc..." Cathleen said. "It was weird to see Velma though."

"I guess you're a fan of hers?" Ruby replied. "I hope she worked on that formula properly. Ya know, it's hair tonic so that she can impress Johnny Bravo. She really likes him."

"I've been a big fan of them ever since I first heard of them." Cathleen nodded.

"I don't know much about them." Ruby said.

"You don't know much about Mystery Inc?! Where have you been?" Cathleen asked.

"In the Enchanted Forest?" Ruby shrugged like it was obvious.

"Oh... Right..." Cathleen said. "But yeah, they're pretty popular... And a lot of other mystery solvers came after them like The Chan Clan, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, Josie and the Pussycats, and even Snooper Dog and the Clue Crew."

"I'll take your word for it," Ruby shrugged. "Maybe I can meet them after you solve this so-called mystery."

"It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" Cathleen remarked as they looked out into the distance.

"Yes, it is." Ruby nodded.

"Nothing could ruin it." Cathleen said as she sat with Ruby.

"Let's hope not." Ruby chuckled a bit.

They then sat together for a while until they would decide to head back.

* * *

Cherry and Gold soon sat on the couch together, having a cup of hot chocolate together.

"All right, I'll tell you one thing..." Gold said to Cherry. "I'm sure you recall the _What a Cartoon_ stars... The ones who didn't get their own shows after their pilot?"

"Yes, I'm quite familiar," Cherry replied. "The same with Nickelodeon's _'Oh, Yeah! Cartoons'_."

"Well... They did this..." Gold said to her as she looked at him to listen. "I was concerned about how you'd react, especially with an adventure you had with that Lycan friend of yours, but they're part of the reason of what happened along with some new allies who helped them so that they could get the recognition that they deserved and desired."

"No way!" Cherry said with wide eyes. "...It can't be true... Could it?"

"There's someone else, but I have to look into who it is," Gold told her. "When everyone goes to sleep, that's when they decide to strike and they've been leaving notes and messages for the people here as payback, especially from their leader."

"Who's the leader?" Cherry asked.

"I don't know who the leader is, but I feel like he or she might be responsible for the disappearance of Mike Mazinsky and her friends, Lu and Og," Gold advised. "I'm sorry, dearie, but that's all I know."

Cherry sighed as she hugged herself. "I don't feel so good..." she then said.

"I'm sorry, Cherry," Gold said softly. "But do you see how important this is now?"

"Yes... Rumple... I do..." Cherry replied. "Thank you for telling me what you know. 

"And I know how hard this will be for Cathleen to hear too..." Gold nodded, showing some sympathy.

"She's gonna be so heartbroken when she finds out." Cherry said softly.

"Tell her whenever you're ready," Gold said as he took Cherry's hand. "You have powerful empathy... You're a good friend."

"I don't know about that..." Cherry blushed from the hand holding.

"I do..." Gold said as he looked her in the eyes. "Now... Are you sure you have to go right now?"

Cherry looked at him and the two were silent for a few moments until a door was heard being locked and the lights were turned out, except for some candlelight.

* * *

Cathleen and Ruby were soon on the way back to the house.

"Well, I guess I better get back to the Bed & Breakfast." Cathleen said to Ruby.

"All right, I had a fun time hanging out with you." Ruby smiled.

"Me too," Cathleen smiled back. "And thanks for helping me out with my wolf problem."

"It's no trouble really," Ruby said. "I'll see you at the diner for work."

"Right... I gotta get a job..." Cathleen rolled her eyes before she went to text Cherry to ask if she was still awake or not.

"Good night, Cathleen." Ruby called.

"Good night, Ruby." Cathleen nodded on the way out, though looked concerned as there wasn't an answer back right away, but shrugged as she guessed that Cherry was already asleep now.

Cathleen then got back into the Bed & Breakfast and went to get some sleep, though flinched a bit as she saw something written on the inn's wall.

**_"OUR STORIES WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN - THE WaC! GANG"_ **

"What the...?!" Cathleen gasped as she decided to try to call her friend this time. "Cherry? CHERRY?!"

* * *

**_Eventually..._ **

"You called?" Cherry asked as she answered her phone.

"Where are you right now? I have to see you," Cathleen said. "You won't believe what I found."

"Can't this wait until morning?" Cherry groaned.

"Were you asleep in bed?" Cathleen asked.

"Uh... Not exactly..." Cherry grinned sheepishly. "Is it really that important?"

"There's something written on the inn!" Cathleen warned. "It's not a sign or anything, you just have to come and see for yourself!"

"Fine... I'll be right there..." Cherry said before hanging up.

* * *

Cathleen paced around the front of the inn before Cherry came by. "Thank goodness you made it," she then said. "You gotta see... This..." she then stopped and sniffed the air.

"...What?" Cherry asked.

"Why do I smell sweat, French perfume, and leather?" Cathleen asked.

"Never mind that right now," Cherry said. "What did you find?"

"Look at that writing," Cathleen pointed out to her friend. "It just came from nowhere."

"I'm not fond of graffiti..." Cherry said.

"Who could've done this?" Cathleen asked.

"Well, there seems to be a calling card..." Cherry said, pointing at the letters. "W.A.C."

"Hmm... What could that stand for?" Cathleen wondered.

Cherry stopped to think before looking away a bit.

"This is getting really weird," Cathleen said before sighing. "It also looks like we have extra work tomorrow aside from waiting tables and... Uh... Whatever work you do in a pawnshop."

"Sweeping the floor, dusting the antiques, checking inventory," Cherry shrugged. "I've done it before. Whoever, uh, WAC is, it's probably best to go to bed for now and not worry about it too much."

"Well, okay," Cathleen said softly. "Good night, Cherry."

"Night, Cath," Cherry replied before sighing to herself. "Maybe I should've told her... But she's going to be heartbroken about this."

The two girls then split up and went to get some sleep until the next day would come.

* * *

Cherry lay awake in the guest bed which was her old bed from when she lived in Storybrooke before she turned over and decided to get some sleep with a lot on her mind that night. "I'm sorry, Cath, for not telling you..." she mumbled to herself before drifting off to sleep.

Unknown to anyone though, a small figure soon crawled into the inn with a crazy look on their face. Luckily, it was mostly a good night in the new Storybrooke City, especially with its new visitors in town.


	8. Chapter 7

However, what no one knew last night was that a small figure broke into the inn and had a rather crazy look on their face. Luckily, it was mostly a good night in the new Storybrooke City, especially with its new visitors in town.

The next morning came and Cathleen suddenly woke up as she heard a crashing sound. "Huh? What was that?" she asked herself as she suddenly sat up.

Granny was shown to be looking around downstairs.

"Uh, hey," Cathleen said as she came downstairs to see the older woman. "What's going on down here?"

"I heard a crashing sound and I wanted to see what happened." Granny explained obviously.

"Do you think someone broke in?" Cathleen guessed.

"I'm not sure, but we better go and find out." Granny suggested.

Cathleen and Granny soon went to explore.

"Hmm... I'm picking up a strong scent..." Granny said as she sniffed the air. "Something... Something was here last night sometime after I locked up to meet Martha and Muriel for Game Night."

"What do you think that it could be?" Cathleen then asked.

"Hmm..." Granny narrowed her eyes as she sniffed the air. "I smell a rat."

"A rat?" Cathleen asked.

"Just in case..." Granny said as she grabbed her crossbow and put an arrow in it.

"Whoa! Are you sure you need that?" Cathleen asked.

"I've been through a lot in my years, especially in protecting my granddaughter, I'm damn well sure of anything." Granny narrowed her eyes as she followed her scent.

Granny led Cathleen to the kitchen where they found the kitchen in a total disaster where a small figure was destorying everything. 

"Heheheheh~... That'll show 'em! This will make them recognize us!" The stranger cackled wickedly.

"That voice... Why does it sound so familiar?" Cathleen commented to herself.

"Come out of hiding!" Granny demanded. "I can smell you."

The small figure soon scampered around a bit.

"All right, you've forced me to do this." Granny glared as she aimed her crossbow.

"Are you are that's wise?" Cathleen asked.

"Don't worry, I won't kill it... Yet..." Granny glared as she aimed her crossbow and soon launched the arrow in it. "I've been shooting this thing ever since I was 6-years-old with my older brothers."

The arrow soon went flying and the tiny figure yelped as it was suddenly caught and pinned to the wall by its tail.

"All right... Furry little rodent... Let's see who you really are..." Granny glared as she stormed over to see who she caught.

"Hey, old lady! Let me go!" The small figure demanded.

"That voice, it sounds so familiar." Cathleen said.

Granny and Cathleen soon saw a pink possum, trying to get the arrow off, growling at the two werewolves.

"It's a possum," Granny noticed before glaring. "Trying to destroy my kitchen, huh?!"

"It's Sledgehammer O'Possum..." Cathleen realized.

"I'll take care of this..." Granny said as she was about to grab the pink possum.

"What're you going to do?" Cathleen asked.

"What else?" Granny shrugged. "I'm gonna break his neck and probably throw him back into the wild so they can properly get rid of him."

"Granny. Wait. I know him." Cathleen told the old lady.

"Oh, you do?" Granny asked.

"His name is Sledgehammer O'Possum and he was from What a Cartoon to get his own show." Cathleen said.

"Well, I'm not taking my chances if he's going to behave like that," Granny glared. "He'll probably ruin all of my dishes at the diner with his disease and grubby little paws."

"Not that you need _my_ help to ruin that meatloaf of yours, Granma." Sledgehammer mocked.

Granny then looked ready to step on the pink possum to teach him a lesson.

"Bring it on, Granny, bring it on!" Sledgehammer challenged.

"Wait a minute!" Cathleen cried out.

"I don't see why I should because nobody talks to me like that." Granny glared.

"Here's my question," Cathleen interrupted. "Sledgehammer, what are you doing here in the first place?"

"I don't gotta answer to you," Sledgehammer scoffed before he yelped as he was grabbed suddenly. "Yaugh!"

"Just for that..." Granny said, as she grabbed a hold of his neck.

Sledgehammer soon tried to bite down on her hand, but nothing seemed to happen.

"Please," Granny scoffed. "My first husband bites harder than you do. I'm sorry, dear, but the rat brought this out on himself."

"Maybe he doesn't remember who I am," Cathleen said as she walked over to the possum. "Do you remember who I am? Cherry and me helped you with your problems." she then said.

"Who the heck are you?" Sledgehammer scoffed.

"That's a nope." Granny rolled her eyes.

"I should go find Cherry," Cathleen said. "Granny, you can put Sledgehammer in a case, but just promise me that you won't kill him."

Granny narrowed her eyes.

"Just trust me, okay?" Cathleen replied. "I'm sure once I see Cherry, we can get this whole thing sorted out."

"Whatever you try will he hopeless," Sledgehammer narrowed his eyes. "The Fallen Leader said so."

Cathleen then pulled out her phone and dialed Cherry's number.

* * *

**_Meanwhile..._ **

"I see you remembered my recipe..." Cherry said as she sat at the dining table, eating some French toast.

"It always tasted a lot better once we made it together," Gold chuckled. "I do hope you're looking forward to a day of work together."

"Whatever gets me out of here and back home faster," Cherry said before checking her phone. "...Cath? It's pretty early in the morning."

"Sorry, but it's an emergency, do you have your scrapbook?" Cathleen asked.

"Never leave home without it." Cherry shrugged as she ate her breakfast.

"Come to Granny's Inn, I'll explain more later." Cathleen said.

Cherry blinked before shrugging. "Whatever."

"And hurry!" Cathleen urged.

"All right... Be right there," Cherry replied before hanging up. "Sorry, Gold, I gotta go to the inn; it's an emergency."

"What about work?" Gold asked.

"I'll be there later," Cherry said as she went to go to her room. "I promise."

Gold simply watched in silence as he watched her rush off to her room, come back, drop her dishes in the sink, grab her book, and run out the door before running right past Belle.

"Hey!" Belle frowned.

"Sorry, Belle!" Cherry said as she ran out the door as she hugged her scrapbook. "I'm coming."

"Do you think she's figured it out?" Belle asked her husband.

"I know as much as you do now." Gold shrugged bashfully.

* * *

Cathleen was looking at Sledgehammer who was in the cage and tried to get out. "Sorry, dude, but Cherry is on her way." she then told the possum.

"One wrong move and the arrow goes between your eyes," Granny said before smirking. "Though with your tiny head, that might take your whole head off."

"You're a dark woman." Cathleen said to Granny.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Granny replied.

"This better be good," Cherry said as she came through the door and held her scrapbook in her arm. "This thing's heavy."

"You're never gonna believe who was destroying Granny's kitchen and we got him trapped." Cathleen told her friend before she then stepped aside to show Sledgehammer trapped in the cage as he looked at her, hissing and growling like a normal possum.

Cherry glanced over before yawning.

"I'll bite you, don't test me, because I will do it." Sledgehammer warned.

"Okay," Cherry said as she held out her hand. "Do it... I dare you."

Sledgehammer soon gave up and just growled at her.

"Cherry, what's going on?" Cathleen asked her friend. "What is he talking about a Fallen Leader and why is he acting like this?"

"I dunno... Guess he's being controlled by some sort of darkness..." Cherry said. "Perhaps this Fallen Leader is a new Dark One."

"That is pretty common once in a while," Granny said before narrowing her eyes. "Like you hanging around Mr. Gold."

"I doubt he did this, Granny," Cherry retorted. "He may be dark and scary at times, but he's not turning evil again."

"You sound like Belle," Granny replied. "She thought that too and then there were those times with Zelena, Hades, The Snow Queen, King Arthur, Henry Jekyll, Edward Hyde, and whatnot."

"Yes, but if you remember, he hasn't been evil since Aurelia was conceived," Cherry glared before looking at Sledgehammer and opened up her scrapbook. "We helped you out a long time ago, buddy. You might not remember, but it happened."

"Yeah, and then you abandoned me and forgot all about me like everyone else in the gang," Sledgehammer crossed his arms. "You just paid attention to folks like Johnny Bravo and the Powerpuff Girls. The Fallen Leader reminded us of that."

"That's not true, we never forgot about you," Cathleen reassured. "And I'm sure Mike Mazinsky and her friends Lu and Og haven't either."

Sledgehammer's eyes then widened as she said those names.

"What should we do, Cherry?" Cathleen asked. "It's like his memories have been corrupted."

"Best idea I have is asking Rumple or Regina for a special serum," Cherry shrugged. "Everyone had their memories already back in Storybrooke by the time I showed up, so I don't know what Emma did, it just sorta happened."

"That seems to be our best choice." Cathleen replied.

"Until then, he's staying in that cage," Granny said. "I know you girls probably know him and trust him, but he's staying in there."

"Does he have--" Cathleen began.

" _My_ Inn, _my_ rules." Granny replied firmly.

"...Okay." Cathleen said softly.

"Now, let me get you some breakfast and you can help Ruby at the diner." Granny then told Cathleen.

"Okay," Cathleen said before she looked over at the pink possum. "Don't worry, we'll get your memory back."

Sledgehammer just growled and hissed. Granny soon put in a bowl of grubs for Sledgehammer and walked off. Sledgehammer's eyes darted around before he soon took the grubs and after he was done eating, he suddenly fell asleep.

"We'll get everybody's memories back," Cathleen said hopefully. "I guess we better get to work now, huh, Cherry?"

"Ah, I won't get yelled at," Cherry replied. "He wouldn't do that to me. Unlike my old jobs before I worked in the bookstore."

"Hey, Cherry, can I ask you something?" Cathleen piped up then.

"What's up?" Cherry asked.

"Well, Sledgehammer was talking about the Fallen Leader; does that mean that the rest of the What a Cartoon gang could be working with him?" Cathleen countered.

"I dunno." Cherry said quickly.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Cathleen asked.

"I just don't, we'll talk about it later, right now, we gotta work," Cherry shrugged as she went away from the inn. "We'll see each other at lunch."

"Well... Okay... See ya." Cathleen replied.

"See ya." Cherry said.

"Come on, kiddo." Granny told Cathleen.

Cathleen looked back at Cherry one last time and soon went to get into a waitress uniform and Ruby led her into the diner.

* * *

"So, where are Bubbles and Buttercup?" Cathleen asked.

"They won't be here for another couple of hours," Ruby said. "I hope you're ready to get to work."

"Yeah, I guess so." Cathleen shrugged.

"That's good to hear." Ruby smiled before she soon explained everything to Cathleen as they got ready to start their day working at Granny's Diner together.

The cook in the back waved at Cathleen.

"This is Floyd, he's our best cook," Ruby said to Cathleen. "Now Ashley should be texting or calling any minute now. Hopefully she can come before Bubbles and Buttercup cuz my hands get pretty full around here without her."

"And who is Ashley?" Cathleen asked.

"She was known as Cinderella back in The Enchanted Forest," Ruby explained. "She's around your age and she used to get in a lot of trouble, especially since she was a pregnant teenager and nearly got her baby taken away from her until Emma helped her."

"Oh, yeah. Cherry told me about her." Cathleen nodded.

"I just hope you're more patient at this job than Buttercup is." Ruby said.

"I'll try." Cathleen replied.

"Don't just try, do," Ruby advised. "That's what Granny always told me when I was a kid."

"Right. I won't let you guys down." Cathleen vowed.

"See that ya don't..." Ruby said as she took out a sucker and began to lick it. "You'll get the hang of it, just remember not to carry too many plates at once otherwise ya might fall."

"No, I guess we wouldn't want that..." Cathleen said, though she began to think about Sledgehammer.

Granny soon came into the diner after writing on her special's board and went to get behind the counter while Ruby and Cathleen would work as it was now breakfast time in the diner. "All right, girls, are you ready?" she then asked them.

"Ready!" Cathleen and Ruby replied.

"All right, good, cuz we got a hungry town to feed." Granny said as she moved changed the closed sign to open.

"Well, here's a start to a new life," Cathleen said to herself. "Granny, do you think Sledgehammer will destory the inn or something while we're going?"

"He won't be doing anything for until after my shift," Granny replied. "I gave him special grubs to keep him occupied."

"You didn't kill him, did you?" Cathleen asked.

"Certainly not," Granny shook her head. "He's just gone back to sleep, as he should be since he's a possum, and it's daylight."

"I know that he's crazy, but not like this." Cathleen defended.

"He's been corrupted, it's for his own good, him and those others in the gang and their so-called Fallen Leader." Granny replied.

"I guess we have to find out who this Fallen Leader is." Cathleen then said.

"It has to be Gold," Ruby crossed her arms. "He's always terrorized us before he married Belle and even tried to take Ashley's baby and hurt a lot of people, not to mention being Rumplestiltskin in a former life."

"But he has a daughter now, you really think that he could've done it?" Cathleen replied.

"He's my #1 suspect." Ruby reassured.

"Even if he has a family?" Cathleen asked.

"When he was The Dark One, he had a son," Ruby replied. "No one was allowed to hurt, make fun of, or even do anything bad around him, otherwise they'd get turned into a snail and get stepped on or maybe even worse. One time, Mr. Gold turned our old butcher into a pig and he even had Belle stay in his castle as a caretaker."

"But they fell in love." Cathleen reminded.

"That's besides the point," Ruby said. "Mr. Gold is bad news, trust me. You don't know him like we do."

"I don't understand though," Cathleen shrugged. "He seems like a decent person like with around Cherry."

"Do you trust him?" Ruby asked. "You can never trust Rumplestiltskin."

"That was in the past," Cathleen reminded. "Isn't everyone allowed a second chance?"

"...She does have a point," Granny remarked before she faced her granddaughter. "Unlike your mother... Everyone deserves a second chance."

"Hmm... I don't know..." Ruby pouted.

"Let's not think about it right now," Granny said before looking to the doors. "We've got customers waiting."

"Ah, yes," Ruby nodded as she saw seven short men coming in at once. "The Seven Hungry Men."

"Are they The Seven Dwarves?" Cathleen guessed.

"Yeah..." Ruby said like it was obvious.

Cathleen just shrugged as she simply didn't know.

"You in a decent mood today, Leroy?" Granny asked the grumpy dwarf.

"Just make sure you make my eggs the way I like 'em, sister." The grumpy man replied.

"Over easy, got it." Granny smirked as she walked off.

"Who's the new girl?" Leroy asked once he saw Cathleen.

"This is Cathleen," Ruby introduced. "She's our new waitress around here."

"She better not mess up my eggs either." Leroy said as he went to sit with his brothers.

"I guess he was Grumpy?" Cathleen said.

"Yeah, he's grouchy a lot, but he's a good guy." Ruby reassured.

"And how about the rest of the dwarves?" Cathleen asked. "What are their names?"

"Doc, Happy, Bashful, Sleepy, Sneezy, and Dopey." Ruby and Granny said like it was obvious.

"...Well then..." Cathleen shrugged.

"Though you should probably call Sneezy 'Mr. Clark' sometimes," Ruby said. "He owns the pharmacy in town."

"Well, at least all seven of them are together." Cathleen said then.

"Even if it used to be eight, but of course, people on the outside world like you don't know about Stealthy." Granny remarked.

"Whatever happened to Stealthy and who is he?" Cathleen asked with suddenly piqued curiosity. "I thought that Snow White was only friends with seven dwarves. I mean, that's what I was told when I was little."

"You guys talking about Stealthy?" Leroy asked as he left his brothers.

The other six began to look a little sad and grim.

"Sorry, Leroy, she's new." Ruby told the former dwarf.

"...Then I'll tell her... He was my brother," Leroy said before looking at Cathleen. "Stealthy was another one of my brothers."

"Was?" Cathleen asked.

"I got into trouble in The Enchanted Forest and King George threw me in prison," Leroy explained. "Stealthy came to rescue me and that was where we met Snow White. We were almost out until King George's men surrounded us and an arrow was shot... Then Stealthy met the arrow to protect me."

"Oh, my gosh!" Cathleen gasped sadly. "I'm so sorry to hear that... That must've been really hard on you guys."

"It really was," Leroy said softly. "I was nearly next until Snow White stood up for me and gave herself up and took my place in prison since The Evil Queen hated her guts."

"I know that he wouldn't want you to be upset." Cathleen said softly.

"I know," Leroy nodded. "We all miss him so much."

"Your eggs will be ready soon, guys." Granny said.

"Thanks, Granny." Six of the men replied as the final one held out a notepad that said the same thing.

"Seems like everyone eats over here in town." Cathleen said.

"Tell me about it," Ruby smirked. "You'd swear Granny's diner was the only place to get food around here."

Cathleen chuckled as both girls headed to the kitchen to see if Granny needed any help. Floyd began to cook up in the kitchen, making the dwarves' faovrite breakfast which was mostly eggs.

"Good to see you working for a change and not just flirting with customers." Granny said to Ruby.

"Hey, I care about my job," Ruby shrugged. "...Most of the time... I especially don't need to do that anymore... Now that I have Dorothy."

"Let's just hope the new intern does better than you whenever he decides to show up." Granny teased.

"Oh? A new intern?" Cathleen asked.

"Yeah, he signed up around last week from school to join the Work-Study program with Bubbles and Buttercup," Granny said. "Hopefully he's a better waitress than Ruby." she then smirked.

"Granny!" Ruby whined.

"What's his name?" Cathleen asked.

"Rex." Granny said.

"Rex?" Cathleen's eyes widened. "...No, it couldn't be... Could it...? ...Well, I just hope that Cherry's doing all right at the pawnshop."

* * *

**_Meanwhile..._ **

"I could be stacking books and pointing people where to go, but nooo... I had to come here just because Cath wanted an adventure..." Cherry rolled her eyes as she stood behind the counter. "Now I'm stuck in a boring old place with boring old stuff kept by a boring old man."

"Boring, huh?" Gold teased as he came up behind her.

"Uh... W-What I meant to say was educational..." Cherry grinned bashfully as she slowly faced him, though that didn't scare her like it did with most people in Storybrooke.

"Of course you did." Gold smirked at her.

Cherry just rolled her eyes at him.

"I want to show you something when we have a break," Gold said. "You might like it."

"I don't like most things, so good luck with that." Cherry scoffed.

"Oh, trust me... You will..." Gold reassured.

Cherry groaned as her head hit the table.

"Would you rather be at the library with Belle, Velma, and Aurelia?" Gold asked.

"Maybe," Cherry smirked as she rested her hand under her cheek. "At least Belle's cool to hang around with."

"Oh? Better than me?" Gold asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Yep." Cherry replied.

Gold rolled his eyes playfully and poked her on her nose.

"Augh!" Cherry glared before slapping his hand away with a small smirk. "Quit it."

Gold chuckled. "You know that you love me~" he then told her.

Cherry soon went over to the door and flipped over the sign.

"What're you doing?" Gold asked. "It's not time for my break."

"People won't know the difference," Cherry said before locking the door. "You said you wanted to show me something."

"...Keep this to yourself and not to anyone else." Gold told her.

"I'll see what I can do," Cherry shrugged as she walked away from the door. "...Even though Cath's having a hard time right now."

"I was sure, especially with your Lycan friend, that this would be too much." Gold nodded.

"I won't say much though," Cherry sighed. "I still feel bad that I haven't told her about the What a Cartoon gang being behind this and their leader."

"I understand..." Gold said as he sat behind his work desk in the backroom of his shop. "It'll all come full circle soon enough."

"I just don't know if I can keep this up," Cherry said. "Have you been doing research on the so-called leader of the What a Cartoon gang?"

"I haven't, but I might do some work tonight if Belle doesn't mind," Gold said before kicked a box over to her. "Check this out."

Cherry glanced at him before opening the box and gasped. "The Cartoon Cartoon Fridays F Disc... The plaque for The Cartoon Theater... A Fancy Anvil Award..." she said as she looked inside the old props before looking at him funny. "How do you have all of this?"

"It's a funny story, even though Edwin's dimwitted friend works part-time at the newer Cartoon Theater that showed up after the Cartoon Network characters recreated our world into this city." Gold chuckled sheepishly.

"Speaking of the Eds, what happened to them in this world?" Cherry asked. "Where are they right now?"

"Like I said, the dumber boy, no offense to him of course, Ed, works at the movie theater, the one who calls himself Double D sometimes helps out in the library after school, and Edwin, or as you called him, Eddy, comes here after school to work." Gold said.

"Does he by any chance try to take some of your stuff to sell them?" Cherry rolled her eyes.

"Yes, and sometimes I have to scare him into not doing that." Gold nodded.

"I'd just hate to imagine if he sold yours and Belle's teacup," Cherry said. "He'd probably have to prepare for his funeral right after."

"You know me so well." Gold grinned.

"Heh... I try," Cherry shrugged. "Did you find anything about getting Sledgehammer's memory back? Maybe he can tell us about who is behind all of this." she then asked.

"He knows who his fallen leader is, but since he's part of the gang, he has no interest in helping you or Miss Ross." Gold replied.

"But can he tell us who did this to all of them if you or Regina didn't do it?" Cherry asked.

"That sounds dangerous..." Gold warned.

"Well, either you find a way for us to find out or you can do spy work for me tonight and watch over the What a Cartoon gang." Cherry crossed her arms, trying to be brave against him.

"Oh, such a bossy type, I see..." Gold teased.

"I mean it." Cherry flashed him a look.

"You have to remember... I was Rumplestiltskin..." Gold reminded with a smirk. "You shouldn't cross me or break a deal with me."

"I remember..." Cherry said as she crossed her arms. "Just do what you can tonight and maybe we'll meet back up if Cath doesn't wanna go anywhere... Any clubs to hang out here? I remember The Rabbit Hole from when I first came here."

"Someplace called Club Paradise," Gold said before shrugging a bit. "I haven't been... Apparently, it's very exclusive about who can go in and out. I had no interest in visiting with Belle since I like having a private evening with her whenever we have Date Night."

"I might take Cath there then to distract her from the craziness." Cherry said.

"That would be a good idea." Gold replied.

"All right then..." Cherry said as she checked the box and saw more old Cartoon Network stuff. "A snowglobe?" she then asked.

"From the Christmas party in December of 2003," Gold told her. "It was a special 10-day event called 'A Cartoon Christmas' where they had a special holiday celebration like Shocktober for Halloween or Grinch Week after Thanksgiving in 2000."

"I vaguely remember that," Cherry said before taking out a Christmas pop-up book and opened it to see a dinner scene with The Grim Reaper, Dick Dastardly, Cow, Dexter, Top Cat, Penelope Pitstop, Johnny Bravo, and Tom Cat at the table with The Powerpuff Girls hiding underneath the table with cupcakes. "Ah... I remember these old pop-up books like with The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Lab, and Evil Con Carne... I always wanted one."

"Here's an interesting artifact." Gold said as he pulled up a small spaceship.

"That was from Cartoon Network Invaded." Cherry memorized.

"I see you vaguely remember that," Gold smirked as he showed it to her. "And your mission to help save Cartoon Network at that time."

" _That_ was an adventure?" Cherry asked.

"Believe it or not, yes," Gold replied. "And to think that mess all started with The Broccoloids that The Powerpuff Girls had to face."

"I kinda sorta remember that..." Cherry said.

"Now the question is what happened to those three missing kids." Gold then said.

"Cathleen says that she keeps having dreams about them, but they were foggy in her dream." Cherry nodded.

"Do you have any ideas?" Gold asked her.

"I'm gonna talk with Mother Superior and see if she's seen anything with the other sisters since she's looking after those orphans you guys keep talking about," Cherry said. "Though... I find it odd that Cath has a daughter from the future in this timeline."

"Yes, because she and Rex adopted a child." Gold informed.

"That's not what I mean," Cherry said. "I mean with how she's somehow in this timeline, wherever she came from... Also, did Mike Mazinsky have a brother I don't know about?"

"...You mean Dylan." Gold guessed.

"Yeah," Cherry replied. "Called himself Dylan Mazinsky."

"...You should go talk to Mother Superior and see if you can see those kids in private," Gold replied. "You might not listen to me if I told you the truth."

Cherry gave him a look before shrugging with a sigh. "Whatever..." she then said. "Something really weird is going on around here and it's not just the curse that Henry told us about."

"I'm sorry, Cherry, but if you want to know..." Gold replied.

"Unless there's something you're not telling me..." Cherry said. "...Like you're The Dark One again."

"I'm never doing that again," Gold assured. "I don't want to hurt you or Belle again... Trust me."

"I hope not... Especially since Aurelia is in our family now..." Cherry said softly. "I don't know if I'll stay in Storybrooke forever, but I want to be able to trust you again."

"You know that you can always trust me." Gold reassured her.

"Sometimes I don't know anymore... But I do right now..." Cherry's eyes shifted.

"I'm a changed man, you know that." Gold reminded.

"Blah, blah, blah..." Cherry replied as she kept looking in the box. "Man... It's hard to believe that I used to see this stuff all the time... Now it's just here collecting dust everywhere."

"Yes, I kept it all just in case it was time to show you." Gold said a smirk formed on his face.

"I bet it was," Cherry rolled her eyes. "I'm starting to miss the bookstore right about now."

"Come now, you're glad to be back, I just know it." Gold reassured.

"Well... Maybe a little bit," Cherry shrugged. "Even if I was hoping for a life without crazy and hectic adventures for a while. I was so happy and bored of a normal life for a while."

"And you get to spend more time with me~" Gold added as he soon kissed her on the cheek.

"Ah!" Cherry gasped and blushed from the kiss.

"I have certainly missed that..." Gold said with a small smirk.

"...Mystery first, then we'll have some fluff." Cherry narrowed her eyes.

"That's not what you said the other night." Gold kept his smirk.

Cherry narrowed her eyes as she then continued to look into the box. "Gosh... I sure do miss this old logo..." she then sighed as she took out a T-Shirt that had the classic black and white checkered Cartoon Network logo from 1992 to 2004 before she took out another T-Shirt with the more current logo from 2004 to 2010. "This one's not bad, it's just not as iconic or nostalgic as the other one I grew up with," she then took out a book that said "Cartoon Network of '97". "Huh... I never knew about this..." she then said before opening the book to see pictures of the many different Cartoon Network characters, having fun and taking pictures and one picture was of Mike Mazinsky and the Eds making funny faces with a note that read: "Best Friends Forever".

"Classic Era, huh?" Gold chuckled.

"Yeah... Seeing all these guys just fills my inner child with delight," Cherry nodded as she took a closer look at the image of Mike. "...Looks like Mike Mazinsky and the Eds were good friends."

"They considered her an Honorary Ed," Gold nodded. "May 27th, 2001 was a grim day for _Mike, Lu, & Og_."

"May 27th, 2001..." Cherry memorized. "The day their show got cancelled after the airing of The Three Amigas and Sleeping Ugly." she then turned to the front page that said "What a Cartoon!".

" _What a Carton/World Premiere Toons,_ " Gold said to her. "Launch date: February 20th, 1995."

"I'm too young to remember all of that," Cherry said. "Those were just faint memories. A long time ago before Cath became my friend of course and WAAAY before you showed up in my life."

"That is true, my dear." Gold nodded.

"Hey, I guess that Mike was friends with these guys too." Cherry then said.

"Yes, I suppose she was." Gold replied.

"We're gonna find her eventually," Cherry said. "I don't know when, where, and how... But Mike will be found eventually."

"Yes, I suppose she was." Gold replied.

"We're gonna find her eventually," Cherry said. "I don't know when, where, and how... But Mike will be found eventually."

"And we will, no matter what." Gold nodded at her. 

Cherry soon went to put the box away.

"Back to work?" Gold asked.

"I guess..." Cherry shrugged as she went to open the store back up. "I just hope that Cathleen is doing okay."

"I'm sure that she's fine." Gold told her.

"Yeah, now, but how long will it last?" Cherry shrugged. "She tends to get into trouble easily, especially with that temper of hers."

"I have a feeling that Ruby and Mrs. Lucas are showing her all around the diner and showing her some other ways," Gold reassured. "She'll be all right."

"I sure hope so." Cherry said softly.

"You can check on her around lunchtime and check in with Mother Superior," Gold smiled as he hugged her waist from behind. "You're getting so close to the mystery, I can almost feel it."

"Ah!" Cherry gasped from the hug and looked back at him. "Erm... Well... It's no trouble... Even if I'm no detective like Mystery Inc or my good friend Atticus."

"Well, you're _my_ little detective." Gold smirked.

"Well... I... Um... Thank you..." Cherry blushed.

"It's my pleasure..." Gold smirked at her.

Cherry grinned bashfully, leaning back before yelping as she suddenly fell since the door swung open and the store bells jingled once the door opened.

* * *

"Gold... My tree is dying." Regina glared as she stormed over, showing a rotten and blackened apple.

"Perhaps it's your fertilizer." Gold smirked as she helped Cherry up off of the floor.

"Eugh... Talk about rotten to the core..." Cherry grimaced at the apple.

"I think the magic we have is dying out because of those meddling Cartoon Network characters." Regina glared.

"We're still solving it," Gold told her. "Don't get your knickers in a twist."

"Making yourself useful?" Regina asked Cherry.

"Yes, Regina," Cherry replied. "At least you're a more competent mayor than The Mayor of Townsville."

"That's not very hard to do." Regina smirked.

"Is there anything else you need, Regina?" Gold soon asked the woman.

"I also need you to get rid of something," Regina replied firmly. "There is a duck in my pool and I was hoping that you could get rid of it."

"Wait a minute... Duck?" Cherry spoke up urgently. "Was it a duckling in a blue shirt and did it have a gator with him?"

"Yes to the first question and no, there was no gator with it." Regina replied.

"Hard Luck Duck..." Cherry realized.

"Though you'd know a lot about a gator, wouldn't you, Mr. Gold?" Regina then asked.

"Excuse me, Killian called me 'Crocodile'." Mr. Gold rolled his eyes, sounding insulted.

"My mistake," Regina deadpanned. "Also, the duckling said something about a Fallen Leader."

"Gold, do you think that we should grab Hard Luck Duck and bring him here?" Cherry asked. "He won't be dangerous like Sledgehammer O'Possum unless Harley Gator is with him."

"Hmm... Well, I suppose that we should," Gold replied before nodding. "Yes. We should. That would be a good idea."

"By all means," Regina replied as she walked off. "And fix my tree while you're at it!"

Gold rolled his eyes. "Yes, Your Majesty."

"Looks like we have a new quest," Cherry remarked. "Getting Hard Luck Duck out of The Evil Queen's swimming pool."

Gold soon put flipped the closed sign on his door and added a note that said "BE RIGHT BACK" on it and soon headed off to Regina's house with the assistance of Cherry. 


	9. Chapter 8

Regina sat in her kitchen, crossing her arms as she waited for them to come. Henry wasn't in the house right now since he had to go to school.

"This right here is your classic privacy screen," Jack told Regina, coming to see her as he pointed to the bushes in her yard that were trimmed, showing a regular bush, a heart-shaped bush, and one of The Powerpuff Girls. "And this one is an evergreen hedge that I pruned into the shape of a heart, and this next one--"

"Yes, yes, very good, thank you, uh, Landscaper Jack." Regina said, paying him for doing his new job.

"Now, I must head off to the laundromat," Jack nodded. "It's Laundry Day."

"Just be careful you don't mix your white robes with a pink dress or something by accident." Regina smirked.

"I won't," Jack chuckled sheepishly. "I promise."

"We wouldn't want a repeat of that." Regina smirked.

Jack nodded and soon walked out the door as Cherry and Gold suddenly arrived.

"Good, you made it." Regina said to them.

"Just point us to the problem," Cherry said as she carried a bag over her shoulders. "I figure if we collect the What a Cartoon characters, we can bag 'em up and put 'em somewhere until we find out what to do."

"That duckling is in my pool." Regina replied firmly.

"Okay, you just sit there, dearie, and we'll get him out." Gold replied calmly.

"By all means." Regina replied.

Cherry and Gold soon came into the backyard and went to look around for Hard Luck.

* * *

"Here, ducky, ducky, ducky..." Cherry called. "Old Aunt Cherry's not gonna hurt ya..."

"Cherry... There he is." Gold pointed out for her.

Cherry looked at the swimming pool where the duckling was swimming.

"Go get it, but be careful," Gold said. "...Is it a child?"

"I'm not sure," Cherry shrugged as she came over to the pool as she opened up the bag. "Either way..."

"Such a great day for a swim..." Hard Luck said to himself as he swam about before looking over.

"Okay, Hard Luck Duck, time to get in the bag if you know what's good for ya." Cherry told the duckling.

"Huh?" Hard Luck blinked before smiling once he saw her. "Oh, hi there!"

"I mean it," Cherry glared. "And don't pull any tricks either."

"Whatcha gonna do with that bag, Miss Lady Ma'am?" Hard Luck asked.

"Uh... Well..." Cherry paused before shrugging. "...It's a magic bag that will take you to a magical place if you just do what I say."

"Is this like from _Doctor Who_?" Hard Luck asked.

"I have no idea, just come along nicely and quietly..." Cherry grinned innocently.

"Is it a magic bag like in Felix the Cat?" Hard Luck asked. "Felix the Cat is a clever cat, isn't he?"

"I said GET IN THE BAG!" Cherry snapped.

"Calm down, Cherry," Gold said as he put his hand on her shoulder. "He means us no harm and we can just take him back to the shop."

Hard Luck gasped at him and soon went under the water.

"Argh! Now what's he doing?!" Cherry complained.

"What is taking so long?" Regina asked impatiently as she stepped into the scene.

"Little duck won't cooperate..." Cherry glared.

"I haven't done anything to him," Gold defended. "Perhaps he's just shy like The Ugly Duckling."

"I'll get him out!" Cherry called out as she went underwater to go after the little duck.

Regina and Gold stepped back from the ends of the pool as Cherry tried to reach out and grab Hard Luck.

"So when did you get a pool?" Gold asked Regina.

"Not too long ago," Regina shrugged. "I thought it'd be nice and maybe help Henry make some friends with how shy he can be."

"I got him!" Cherry announced as she soon popped out of the water with the small duck in her hand.

"Good!" Regina replied.

"Now... In you go, but not before you tell me exactly why you were in Mayor Mills' pool." Cherry glared at Hard Luck as she had a firm grasp on him.

"I'm sorry, ma'am; I just wanted to go for a nice swim." Hard Luck defended innocently.

"And that's a _ll_ you were doing?" Cherry asked sharply.

"Honest, yes!" Hard Luck smiled. "I like the water here better than Leaky Lake."

"Leaky Lake?" Gold and Regina asked.

"That's the lake that divides Camp Kidney and Acorn Flats, they're a couple of scout camps." Cherry explained to them.

"Ohh..." Gold and Regina replied quietly.

"So, you weren't doing... Oh... I don't know... Getting rid of all of the Cartoon Network characters?!" Cherry glared at Hard Luck, still suspicious of him.

"I didn't mean to!" Hard Luck gasped before cupping his beak.

"Well, well... The plot thickens like my hair..." Cherry said before shivering. "...Can someone hand me a towel?"

* * *

Soon, they came inside Regina's mansion and Cherry was wrapped up in a towel around her shoulders and one for her hair as Hard Luck was wrapped in a washcloth and given some crackers.

"All right, spill," Cherry demanded. "Who's your leader and what are you doing to classic Cartoon Network?"

"I promised not to tell otherwise there'd be trouble." Hard Luck pouted.

"We already captured your friend Sledgehammer O'Possum, but he won't cooperate." Cherry soon said.

"Aw, you know how Mr. O'Possum can be sometimes," Hard Luck said. "He's hardheaded... I can't tell you who the Fallen Leader is though, I could get in trouble."

"I'll pluck your feathers." Regina threatened.

"Regina, please..." Gold warned, holding her back.

"I'm sorry... I can't..." Hard Luck shook his head. "Hard Luck Duck doesn't break promises."

"Look, if you tell us we promise that we will protect you and the Fallen Leader won't know," Cherry said, trying to be nice now. "Besides, I have a book that has different pictures like a school yearbook and I know one of them had you and Bubbles together. It looks like you guys are having fun together." she then added as she showed him the book that had a picture of him and Bubbles hugging and there was a note that said: "To one of my best animal friend ever; I'm glad he came to Cartoon Network" - Bubbles Utonium.

"Bubbles... She was one of my very good friends..." Hard Luck said, taking the book.

"Yes... She's a waitress now..." Cherry replied. "She and the others could really use their memories back."

"...Can I think about it?" Hard Luck asked.

Cherry groaned and rolled her eyes. "Fine, but make it quick," she then told him. "I don't have all day."

Hard Luck was looking at the book with a tear running down on his face. "What have we done?" he then sulked.

"I don't know what _have_ you done?" Cherry replied.

"They promised it wouldn't be this way," Hard Luck said. "We were going to have a great life... All of us together."

"Who said?" Cherry asked.

Hard Luck turned away then, taking another cracker and nibbling on it.

"Hey, now, you can trust me," Cherry told him. "I helped protect you against that fox who wanted to eat you and not cook you breakfast until your friend Harley stepped in to help out."

Hard Luck then stopped eating before looking at her.

"And my friend Cathleen will protect you too, so please, will you trust me?" Cherry asked.

Hard Luck looked at her and put his wing on her hand so that they could shake on it.

"Very good..." Cherry said. "Now... Uh... You think about what I said and maybe we can talk some more."

"...Okay." Hard Luck said softly.

Cherry nodded, then came back to check in with Gold and Regina.

"Well? How's it going?" Regina asked.

"He wants some privacy to think about this," Cherry said as she crossed her arms. "I'm having a bad feeling about this so far."

"What do you mean? He agreed to help us." Regina replied.

"Not him, just this Fallen Leader stuff," Cherry said. "Who is this leader? Where are they now? What's their big plan? It's just a lot to take in right now."

"Don't worry; I'm sure that he will tell us." Gold reassured.

"I dunno, he looked a bit scared and seems sworn to secrecy," Cherry shrugged. "Kinda like how you used to be."

"You know I changed for you and Belle..." Gold reminded. "And if you need an extra reminder? There's always Aurelia."

"Yeah... I know..." Cherry sighed.

"Well, he shouldn't be scared." Gold then said softly.

"I know, but he seems so innocent and so scared," Cherry replied. "Scared that something bad is going to happen to him."

"Something bad might happen if we don't get to the bottom of this," Regina said. "Whoever this Fallen Leader is, they seem to be taking away our magic too." she then added, showing her the rotten apple.

"I'll work on it, Regina," Cherry said, pushing back the apple. "After all, Hard Luck is just a kid... I think."

"Excuse me?" Hard Luck piped up from behind.

Cherry, Gold, and Regina turned around as Hard Luck waddled towards them.

"I would like to help," Hard Luck said. "I'm sorry that I didn't want to say anything."

"You were under a lot of pressure," Gold said to him before kneeling down and held out his hand. "You ready to tell us what you know then?"

"All right," Hard Luck said as he hopped up into the man's hand and he was soon lifted up and set down on the bar table in between the three. "I just hope I don't get in any trouble for this."

"If you do, they'll have to answer to me," Cherry replied. "So... What's this all about?"

"Just know that I can't say _too_ much," Hard Luck warned them as he took a deep breath in and let it out. "You should know this about the Hanna-Barbera tribe though..." he then began.

"Yes?" Cherry asked.

"The humans are all coma patients in the hospital and the animals have turned feral and they're all in a zoo." Hard Luck said.

"I'll ask Mary Margaret about them then," Cherry said. "She volunteers in the hospital sometimes after school. At least... She did when I first came here."

"I can't tell you who the Fallen Leader is, but they've become allies with the one named Lord Fuse who is the leader and ruler of Planet Fusion," Hard Luck explained. "He's also the one who sent the aliens after Cartoon Network City and nearly got rid of it during the Spring of 2007 when those aliens came for cheese while invading Camp Kidney, Acorn Flats, Peach Creek, Charles Darwin Middle School, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, and Endsville."

"And the What a Cartoon gang," Cherry then said. "How did the Fallen Leader get to you guys?"

"The Fallen Leader noticed that we had been ignored and brushed aside when the Cartoon Cartoon stars got their chance to shine... Well, most of them anyway," Hard Luck then said. "The Fallen Leader then decided to take us in to form a gang so that more people would remember us... We never got over the time we failed to win an audience like the Oh, Yeah! Cartoons gang from Nicktropolis."

Gold and Regina glanced at Cherry.

"Pretty much Nickelodeon's What a Cartoon thing," Cherry explained to them. "I'll tell you more later."

Gold and Regina then looked back at Hard Luck.

"Our memories were stolen and altered and so were the other Cartoon Network people in our tribe, the Cartoon Cartoon tribe, and the Hanna-Barbera tribe," Hard Luck continued. "Lord Fuse suggested to the Fallen Leader that we be sent somewhere no one would bother to look for us so we would rise up when the time was right. In this town called Storybrooke. It's not exactly easy to find on the map, so when Lord Fuse would uprise with our gang, we would show everybody and teach them a lesson about forgetting all about us by everyone, even you and Cathleen when your memories were taken away too until you ended up here."

"Oh, man... That's awful." Cherry said softly.

"I'll say." Regina nodded in agreement.

"I'm afraid that's all I can say," Hard Luck said. "I never meant to cause any trouble. In fact, I was going to break some stuff and try to run you out of town."

"But...?" Cherry prompted.

"I saw the pool and wanted to go for a swim," Hard Luck giggled innocently. "I couldn't help it."

"It's almost like the badness was washed out of you," Cherry remarked. "Well, at least you're not as bad as Sledgehammer was... I'm sadly not surprised that cartoon didn't get picked up for a full series, even if he redeemed himself by his second pilot."

"Maybe I could talk to him?" Hard Luck suggested. "He's been nice to me."

"It's worth a shot, kid." Cherry shrugged.

"You're a good friend." Hard Luck beamed as he hugged Cherry's hand.

"Yeah... I don't know about that sometimes..." Cherry shrugged and rolled her eyes.

"Well, we might not have found out more about this Fallen Leader, but now we have a lead," Gold replied. "Lord Fuse."

"Cherry, do you know that name?" Regina soon asked.

"I don't think so," Cherry shook her head. "Must've been a villain from Toonami or something because I never really watched that back in the day since anime didn't interest me at all back then."

"Hmm..." Gold paused as he narrowed his eyes in firm suspicion.

"Unless there's something you're not telling me..." Cherry said. "You've turned your back on mine and Belle's hearts before."

"I know... And I'm sorry..." Gold said. "But it's not me. I'm just surprised about this as you are."

"All right... I've got my eye on you... I don't wanna believe it would be you though..." Cherry said. "I might need to do some night time investigation."

"Do you want some help?" Gold offered.

"I dunno, what're you doing tonight?" Cherry asked with her eyes shut humbly.

"I can make time for you if you wish," Gold replied. "Belle can look after Aurelia if she doesn't ask Ruby and Dorothy."

"...All right," Cherry said. "It'll help me keep an eye on you tonight too."

"But I haven't done anything!" Gold defended.

"Not yet." Regina replied.

Gold firmly frowned at her.

"It's all coming together," Cherry said before she hugged her stomach. "And I need a sandwich."

Gold soon made her favorite sandwich appear through magic on a plate with a side of cheese fries.

"Oh... Cool... Thanks..." Cherry said, accepting it before snacking on the sandwich. "Now, I guess I'll meet Cath later for lunch and then we'll have a word with Mother Superior."

"Yes, we will." Gold nodded.

"Don't you have to work?" Cherry asked with a smirk.

"...I can take a break," Gold told her. "It's MY store."

"Okay, fine." Cherry rolled her eyes.

"I know that you love me~" Gold smirked.

"Yeah, yeah..." Cherry scoffed.

"You're a twisted little imp." Regina deadpanned to Gold.

"Why, thank you, dearie~" Gold smirked.

* * *

Meanwhile at Granny's diner, Ruby was cleaning up a table as Granny held out a mop to her newest worker. "All right, Cathleen," she then said. "Just mop up the floor after Ruby's done with that table and we can get ready for lunch and you can eat with us."

"Yes, ma'am." Cathleen replied.

Granny then walked off to do what she had to do.

Cathleen then began to mop up the floor. "Why do you tease the male customers so much?" she then smirked.

"Because it's fun," Ruby smirked. "Especially since I do go both ways, but my heart belongs to Dorothy Gale~"

"How long have you guys been together?" Cathleen asked.

"In Storybrooke or ever?" Ruby asked.

"I guess either." Cathleen shrugged.

"Well, we first met in the Enchanted Forest when I had to come to Oz to help out Mulan," Ruby explained. "Her dog Toto began to bark and came up to me and she felt nervous around me because Toto usually barks only around witches, but I explained that I was a werewolf. Dorothy and Toto then came with us on our journey and we had to help keep Zelena, The Wicked Witch of the West out of Oz because she wanted Dorothy's silver slippers to gain control of Oz and we decided to make a sleeping potion together to keep Zelena as far away from Dorothy as possible and we bonded while going to meet Mulan... Dorothy told me about what happened to her in Kansas and how she ended up in Oz and I mentioned how I once had a boyfriend named Peter who was killed by mother's pack to get me to join them and leave my granny."

"I'm sorry for asking this, but what happened to your father?" Cathleen asked then. "Is he a human or a werewolf?"

"I don't know," Ruby replied. "I've never met my father."

"Oh, I'm so sorry..." Cathleen frowned.

"It's okay, I spent my whole life with Granny anyway," Ruby shrugged. "It never bothered me before, so I don't get upset over that sort of thing."

"I see." Cathleen said softly.

"Besides, Dorothy was adopted too and she never minded," Ruby said. "She always thought of Em as her mother since her birth mother left her on her and Henry's doorstep as a baby."

"I guess she told you about that?" Cathleen guessed.

"Of course, she did," Ruby smirked. "We tell each other everything~"

Cathleen paused thoughtfully from that statement.

* * *

After they were done cleaning up, they soon sat down to have their lunch break. 

"Trust me, do _not_ eat Granny's meatloaf," Ruby told Cathleen. "You _will_ regret it later."

"You're just jealous that I have a recipe for it and you don't!" Granny teased her granddaughter.

"Your meatloaf was already old when _you_ were a kid, Granny!" Ruby smirked.

"Don't you sass me!" Granny retorted.

"She does this all the time." Ruby told Cathleen.

"I can tell." Cathleen nodded.

"Hmm... I think I want some steak today," Ruby then said. "...Hopefully it doesn't come from that one farm with that strange cow and chicken who are always hanging around each other."

Cathleen's eyes widen as she said something about a cow and a chicken. That could not be a coincidence.

"Yeah... Steak..." Ruby decided. "Probably some fried potatoes to go with it."

"Is Dorothy coming too?" Granny asked.

"I just texted with her," Ruby nodded. "She's on her way."

Cathleen's phone buzzed and she soon checked it to see a text from Cherry. Ruby then began to sip her cola as she set down her menu.

"Cherry's on the way and she wants to tell me something in private." Cathleen said as she checked her phone.

"Well, you're going to see Mother Superior, right?" Ruby replied. "She used to be The Blue Fairy that Pinocchio and Gepetto used to know."

"Really?" Cathleen asked.

Ruby merely nodded honestly.

"Do I have any reason to lie about that?" Ruby glanced at Cathleen with a small smirk.

"No way!" Cathleen gasped.

"Calm down," Ruby giggled. "You'll get used to it eventually like Emma did."

Cathleen smiled and laughed, having a fun time with Ruby. Cherry soon stepped into the diner.

* * *

"Hello, Cherry," Granny greeted. "Cathleen and Ruby are already sitting, but they haven't ordered yet if you'd like to join them."

"Thanks, Granny," Cherry nodded as she came to go sit with the two. "Hey, guys."

"Hey, Cherry, how's work?" Cathleen asked her friend.

"Work's work, I guess," Cherry replied. "No customers today though."

"Too bad Gold doesn't have any Cartoon Network stuff in his shop," Ruby said. "That's sure to help the other characters get their memories back like they did with us when Henry found Emma and brought her into Storybrooke."

"I... Uh... We could try it..." Cherry shrugged bashfully.

"Wait... What?" Ruby blinked.

"We learned a lot from this little guy and more about what's going on." Cherry said as she soon pulled out Hard Luck from her pocket and set him down on the table.

Hard Luck soon yawned and stretched as he landed on the table.

"Aww... He's pretty cute~" Cathleen beamed before looking funny. "Wait, did I call something cute?"

"Cath, you can call something cute whether you're a tomboy or not," Cherry rolled her eyes. "For instance, I've met some cute vampire bats in my travels."

"You're the cutest thing ever!~" Cathleen cooed as she grabbed the small duck and hugged him. "I just wanna keep you!~" she then kissed him on the cheek.

Hard Luck soon woke up, giggling a bit.

"Where'd you find him?" Ruby asked.

"Regina's pool," Cherry replied. "Heck, I didn't even know Regina had a pool, but yeah, we found him there and luckily, he was willing to cooperate with interrogation."

"Yep!" Hard Luck smiled.

"I was gonna show you in private, but I guess I panicked at the last second." Cherry shrugged at Cathleen.

"So, wait... If Hard Luck Duck is here and Sledgehammer O'Possum is in the kitchen... Then I guess WAC means 'What a Cartoon'." Cathleen realized thoughtfully.

"Kinda obvious when you put it that way." Cherry replied.

"And that also means--" Cathleen began.

"They are working for the Fallen Leader." Cherry nodded.

"So who is the Fallen Leader?" Cathleen asked.

"Still working on that," Cherry replied. "But I heard the name Lord Fuse a couple of times while I was with Regina and Gold earlier. He might be a lead."

"Hmm... I wonder if Hard Luck could convince Sledgehammer to be on our side." Cathleen pondered.

"That could be a possibility..." Cherry said with a small shrug.

"Do you think it would work?" Cathleen asked.

"I dunno, I'm not really fond of Sledgehammer myself," Cherry rolled her eyes. "I know, he redeemed himself in his second short, but he's really annoying and horrible most of the time."

"She has a point," Ruby replied. "Though maybe that's because his cartoon didn't get picked up for a series."

"Still, I don't like him," Cherry scoffed. "I'll help him, but I'm not gonna like it very much."

"Not to mention the only family he has left is a very distant cousin from the South named Podunk and he has a niece in Nickeldeon." Hard Luck replied.

"Pfft! What's next?" Cherry smirked. "An adventure where we help the _Oh, Yeah! Cartoons_ stars?"

"Who knows?" Cathleen smirked back.

"I'll have a talk with him," Hard Luck decided as he soon went over to the kitchen. "I'll be right back."

"Oh, boy... Can't wait to see how this turns out..." Cherry groaned as she leaned back into her chair and took a look at the menu. "Hmm... I think I want a chicken sandwich today."


	10. Chapter 9

Hard Luck went to the kitchen and saw Sledgehammer in the cage and he climbed up to the cage and tapped on it. The pink possum poked his head out, snarling, though a bit groggily as he still looked pretty tired from what happened between him and Granny earlier.

"Hiya, Mr. Sledgehammer!" Hard Luck smiled. "Lovely day, isn't it?"

"Kid? How'd you get out?" Sledgehammer narrowed his eyes. "The Fallen Leader is not going to like this."

"Yeah, well, I'm not sure if I'm gonna stick around this mean 'ol Fallen Leader anymore and I don't think you should either," Hard Luck shook his head. "There's some nice ladies who helped us before. They helped me against that nasty old fox who tried to cook me for breakfast and when you were freezing cold while trying to avoid Ethel the mailman who you thought was gonna hurt ya 'til you decided to befriend her."

"That's old news, kid, move on," Sledgehammer snorted. "This is what the Fallen Leader was warnin' us about. We had our chance back in 1995 and lost it when those bigger and better Cartoon Stars took our place for us and now look where it got us. They deserve to have their memories taken away."

"Mr. Sledgehammer, you shouldn't say stuff like that," Hard Luck frowned. "I know it was rough on some of us and some lucky ones made it out, why, the Eds didn't even start out on _What a Cartoon_!"

"Ya had to remind me about that," Sledgehammer scoffed and rolled his eyes. "What a Cartoon is where we all started after the Hanna-Barbera tribe helped make Cartoon Network slowly and surely become what it is today before developing into Boomerang as a retirement home like Nostalgia Acres for them and the other cancelled classics or The Cartoon Heavens for folks like Bugs Bunny and Toot Braunstein."

"Betty Boop." Hard Luck corrected.

"What?" Sledgehammer scoffed.

"Betty Boop came first, Toot Braunstein came from Comedy Central for that series _Drawn Together_." Hard Luck clarified.

"Yeah... Well... Whatever! Same difference!" Sledgehammer snorted and rolled his eyes. "Anyway, it's time for some people to grow up. You can't spend your whole life supporting cartoons like some washed-up kid who never grew up. The 90's and early 2000's are over and some people gotta realize that. It's too late to change anything now."

"But it's not too late for us, Mr. Sledgehammer," Hard Luck said as he grabbed the bars of the cage, looking the pink possum in the eyes. "We can still be happy, even if things looked bleak for us if we didn't get picked up for a whole series."

"Ah... Get outta here, ya Huey, Dewey, and Louie sound-alike," Sledgehammer snorted. "I can tell you're gonna need a new lesson from The Fallen Leader if you ever come back to our hideout again. I mean, Harley's there waitin' for ya~" he then added with a toothy grin.

"I've changed and so can you," Hard Luck insisted. "I won't give up and I won't give up on those girls either. You can trust them."

"If we could trust them, then how come no one remembers who we are all over the place?" Sledgehammer narrowed his eyes. "They only care about The Powerpuff Girls and those Ed boys and Billy and Mandy or Courage the Cowardly Dog and Scooby-Doo... Good lord, Scooby-Doo! They might as well had called it _The Scooby-Doo Network_ with the movies, shows, and cartoons that meddling dog had, not to mention the copycats of _The Chan Clan_ , _Goober and the Ghost Chasers_ , and _Josie and the Pussycats_!"

"Doesn't it at least matter that some people remember us?" Hard Luck insisted softly. "Yes, it's not as much fun as everybody knowing us, whether they love us or hate us from Scooby to Scrappy-Doo, but isn't that better than no one knowing us at all?"

"It's hopeless, kid," Sledgehammer snorted. "I ain't helpin' ya if ya ain't gonna help the cause. The Fallen Leader ain't gonna be happy 'bout ya ditchin' on us like this."

"Well, if you're gonna be like that, then I hope The Fallen Leader fails," Hard Luck narrowed his eyes. "You are so stubborn, Mr. Sledgehammer! I thought you'd at least change for me!"

"What can I say? I'm a disappointment to everybody," Sledgehammer rolled his eyes, turning around and folding his arms. "First it's Cartoon Network, then it'll be Nickelodeon, then I don't know what else. Probably the Disney Channel. I heard of a guy named Shorty McShort Shorts who had a showcase too back in 2006 where only one lucky candidate made it out of a whoppin' 13."

"Didn't _Boyz on Da Run_ get three shorts though?" Hard Luck piped up.

"Yeah, but a fourth and final part was planned until Disney Channel decided to pull the plug on Shorty in May of 2007," Sledgehammer smirked. "Good luck findin' anyone who'll even remember those guys aside from SheZow."

Hard Luck looked very disappointed and soon turned around, bowing his head as a teardrop rolled down his cheek.

"Yeah, get outta here before that old biddy decides to make soup out of ya," Sledgehammer laughed. "You're gonna be in real trouble, kid... I guarantee it~"

Hard Luck then simply waddled away and went to go back to see the girls again.

* * *

Meanwhile, the girls were sitting and talking to pass the time during Hard Luck's absence.

"And then Cherry ended up getting us in this school called the St. Vladimir's Academy." Cathleen soon concluded one story they were telling Ruby.

"Ah, yes, I remember that school name," Ruby nodded. "Cherry had an adventurous gap year away from Greendale."

"So it seems," Cathleen said to her friend who sipped her drink. "Even though a lot of kids at that school bullied me for being a Lycan and I had to get my powers taken away from me and earn them back."

"That was just to teach you a lesson and to not rely on your powers all the time," Cherry defended. "Besides if you had your powers, you'd just tear someone to shreds like Mia Rinaldi."

"Ugh, she was the worst of them all," Cathleen groaned and rolled her eyes. "Especially with how she was treating Rose and Lissa."

"I'm sorry, Cathleen, but you shouldn't just rely on using fangs, claws, and your carnivore nature to solve all of your problems." Cherry remarked.

"She's right," Ruby added. "Otherwise it might get you in trouble. Just like I nearly did with Mr. Spencer."

Cathleen merely blinked as she didn't know who that was.

"Albert Spencer is Storybrooke's district attorney," Cherry began to explain to her. "He was King George and he tried to get Ruby run out of town and even killed a man named Billy who was once one of Cinderella's mouse friends and blamed Ruby until David AKA Prince Charming saved her."

"I'm learning so much about this town, I don't know if I can keep up." Cathleen commented.

"You just learn to adapt," Cherry shrugged. "My strategy is that just don't question someone who had a fairy tale past because it's just expected at this point. I'm pretty sure eventually I'm going to meet Count Dracula or Sherlock Holmes."

"That would be quite a tale." Ruby chuckled.

Hard Luck sighed softly as he soon waddled back over.

"What's wrong, little guy?" Cathleen frowned as she looked down at him. "Why do you look so sad?"

"Did Sledgehammer cooperate?" Ruby added.

"No," Hard Luck shook his head. "He just said I'd be in a lot of trouble with The Fallen Leader and that what you guys are doing is hopeless, especially since people have long since forgotten about us in the What a Cartoon gang and have already moved on."

"Well... That's sadly the case for most people," Cherry replied as she held out her hand for him to hop into and he soon did and she placed him down on the table. "Memories tend to fade like the wind and you can either just give into nostalgia and have no way to recapture them and you can just talk about them to help keep them alive."

"What're you saying, Cherry?" Cathleen asked. "Are you giving up?"

"I don't want to, but I don't know what we can do to help restore everyone's memories," Cherry replied. "I see no proof or point in doing so."

"So you're just gonna quit when we have a mission to do?" Cathleen asked. "That's not the Cherry I know."

"Cathleen, I don't know what we're going to do, I just feel stressed that we're drifting further and further away on this case and adventure that it almost feels fruitless," Cherry sighed. "We can keep trying, but where will it get us? Just broken dreams and memories that will eventually mean nothing once we're grown up, then married, and having our own families. It's time to grow up and move on."

"Don't say that, Miss Cherry!" Hard Luck gasped. "I still believe in you!"

"That's very nice of you, Hard Luck, but I'm running out of ideas around here," Cherry said. "One stop we're definitely making though is visiting Mother Superior and the other nuns. Mr. Gold told me that they're taking care of some orphans there and might have information on Mike, Lu, and Og if we're lucky."

"Then I hope that they have information about them." Cathleen said.

"We can only hope," Cherry replied. "Now enough mucking about. Let's try to enjoy our lunch break."

"That's probably for the best," Ruby agreed. "No sense in getting into a big fuss over things before a nice, big meal."

Eventually, the girls and duck had some food together. They were mostly quiet while eating as Cathleen tried to remain brave and confident, trying to persevere since she and Cherry were the Toon Saviors. She knew that they could do this, but it wasn't looking very good on their side.

* * *

After lunch, Cherry kept Hard Luck in her pocket and left the diner with Cathleen. Ruby grinned and waved at them, letting them get going as she went to go back inside with Granny to get back to work, and eventually, she would be working with Bubbles and Buttercup. Cherry looked around, trying to memorize where to go and luckily, she saw enough familiar sights to remember where to go as Hard Luck tried not to cry, but only felt very depressed after his talk with Sledgehammer.

"Cheer up, Hard Luck, I'm sure that it'll get better." Cathleen told the young duck.

"I-I guess so..." Hard Luck sighed and pouted. "Why does everything just have to be so difficult?"

"I ask myself that question every day, buddy." Cherry replied as they walked together.

* * *

Eventually, they made it over to the building known as Convent of the Sisters of Saint Meissa which wasn't too far away from the library which was where Belle and Velma currently were. They waved at the two on the way inside and soon heard church bells ringing. 

"So is this a church or something?" Cathleen asked.

"A convent is a Christian community under monastic vows, especially one of nuns," Cherry explained. "Mother Superior was also The Blue Fairy from Pinocchio who turned him into a real boy."

"So Pinocchio's around here too somewhere?" Cathleen then guessed.

Cherry looked a bit emotionally distant from answering that question before they came up the steps leading up to the front doors. She soon picked up the knocker and banged it a few times to get some attention from the inside world of the building. 

Eventually, out came a woman with auburn hair and dark brown eyes soon came out of the building, wearing her uniform. "Yes?" she then asked before seeing the perky goth. "Oh! Cherry... Hello, there."

"Man, everyone knows you in Storybrooke." Cathleen commented to Cherry.

"Like I said, I made quite a difference around here." Cherry said, absently stroking her stomach.

"Cherry, we thought you were gone forever," Mother Superior said to the perky goth. "What can we do to help you?" she then noticed Cathleen. "And who is your friend?"

"This is Cathleen Ross," Cherry introduced. "Our relationship is a very long story, though I'm sure you've noticed some sort of new curse or enchantment in town that involves... People you guys have never seen before in The Enchanted Forest."

"Ah, yes, we have," Mother Superior nodded. "Mr. Gold brought it up at one town council meeting and he said he would find some help from the outside world to take care of it. I suppose he summoned you two?"

"Yeah, he did," Cathleen replied. "He just showed up at my door on my birthday."

"Well, can I help you with something?" Mother Superior asked. "It's about time for the children to have lunch."

"Actually, yes," Cherry said. "We heard that you had some children around here who seemed... Out of the ordinary or something?"

"I'm not sure I know what you mean by that, but you may come inside to see them," Mother Superior replied as she led them inside. "Please come in."

"Maybe this can help us, huh, buddy?" Cathleen asked Hard Luck.

"I guess..." Hard Luck sighed as he just looked very unhappy right now.

"Poor guy," Cathleen frowned. "I hope we can cheer him up soon."

"Yeah, me too." Cherry replied as they went to meet the orphans. 


	11. Chapter 10

"I wonder if we'll find them here?" Cathleen pondered.

"The kids have lunch for an hour and they usually play outside in the back for a recess to do whatever they want until 1:00," Mother Superior informed Cherry and Cathleen. "Then they go back inside for a couple more hours of studying time and then they're free to do whatever until 5:00 to wash up and get ready for dinner until bedtime at 9:00."

"Strict schedule, huh?" Cathleen asked.

"That's how I used to live... A very long time ago..." Cherry said distantly and mysteriously.

"Now you've mentioned a Mike Mazinsky, but I'm afraid the only Mazinsky I know around here is a boy named Dylan," Mother Superior replied. "He, a lot like the other children, have no background information."

"Hmm... Strange, I don't think Mike has a brother," Cherry remarked. "At least not that I know of."

"You've met Dylan Mazinsky before it seems." Mother Superior said.

"Yeah, he came along with Henry and that girl Eve and Mr. Gold," Cherry replied. "They told us about becoming the Toon Saviors like how Emma became The Savior of Storybrooke during Regina's first curse as The Evil Queen."

"So I see..." Mother Superior nodded.

Hard Luck sighed sadly, still feeling bad about what Sledgehammer said.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay there, buddy," Cathleen soothed the small duck. "I promise you that."

"I think Mr. O'Possum has a point," Hard Luck said. "What's the point of anything?"

"I ask myself that question all the time, but you just sometimes have to stay strong, even when things seem pointless." Cherry stated stoically.

"And I think that Harley would agree with you there." Cathleen added.

"Harley's been with me for as long as I can remember." Hard Luck said softly.

"Yeah, we know," Cherry nodded. "You were left alone in a nest when you hatched with no one else there and he was the first thing you saw and he's taken you in ever since, looking after you like a good friend and your only family."

"Yeah... I hope that he isn't angry with me." Hard Luck pouted.

"I guess he's with the rest of the gang?" Cherry asked.

"Uh-huh," Hard Luck nodded. "I wanted to take him with me, but he wouldn't listen to me... Nobody would. They told me what I was doing was hopeless."

"I just don't get why Storybrooke of all places would you guys end up here," Cherry said. "I mean, when Regina cast The Dark Curse as The Evil Queen, I guess the curse created this place and made everyone forget who they were when they came from The Enchanted Forest, but Cartoon Network people in Storybrooke? It just seems a little weird if you ask me."

"That _is_ strange." Cathleen simply said.

* * *

Mother Superior soon came into an office and opened up the file cabinet. Cherry, Cathleen, and Hard Luck sat together and waited as she went to work.

"What're you looking for?" Cherry asked.

"Hopefully... Maybe... Finding something on this Mike Mazinsky..." Mother Superior replied as she checked the files, but didn't find anything. "Hmm... I don't think I can find anything of her in here, dears."

"Okay, that is definitely weird," Cathleen said. "If she's not here, then where could she be?"

"I don't know..." Mother Superior replied. "Are you sure she came from Cartoon Network?"

"Yes!" Cherry and Cathleen told her.

"I'm sorry, dears," Mother Superior frowned and shook her head. "I'm not sure what to tell you."

"So, now what, Cherry?" Cathleen then asked.

"My best guess is to talk to Dylan." Cherry shrugged.

"You should probably come back in about half an hour or so," Mother Superior advised. "The children are having their lunch break and recess time right now."

"Thank you, Mother Superior." Cathleen said.

"You're welcome," Mother Superior replied. "I hope you can succeed in your mission."

"I hope so too." Cherry said softly.

* * *

The trio then walked outside, wondering what to do next.

"Well, the first thing we gotta do is keep Hard Luck safe before any of the rest of the WAC gang gets him." Cherry suggested.

"Good idea." Cathleen agreed.

"Do you mind if we go swimming?" Hard Luck asked. "That always clears my head."

"All right, you can go swimming, but not in Regina's pool," Cherry replied. "I think the lake is around here somewhere."

"I think I see someone..." Cathleen said mysteriously.

* * *

They soon came to Leaky Lake which came from Cartoon Network and not Storybrooke. Hard Luck beamed as he began to swim around in the lake, looking a bit happier as they tried to take it easy. Cherry just had her feet in the water, not going to swim as she stared off into the distance.

"Hey, Cherry, are you okay?" Cathleen asked as she wore her bathing suit, getting ready to go swimming in the lake.

"I'm just not sure what to do here," Cherry said softly. "I know Emma's had her troubles here when she first came here, but I feel lost on what to do. I just feel hopeless."

"Don't say that," Cathleen replied. "We can't give up."

"I'm not giving up, I'm just taking a break." Cherry replied.

"As long as you don't quit, you're not much of a quitter from what I've seen." Cathleen said as Hard Luck happily splashed about.

"Yeah, except for maybe college." Cherry crossed her arms with a smirk.

Cathleen just rolled her eyes before smirking back.

"Wheeee!" Hard Luck laughed as he began to have fun and be happy again. "This sure is a lot of fun!"

"Well, I'm glad at least one of us is happy." Cherry said to him.

"Yeah, this is the funnest time I've had in a long time!" Hard Luck beamed.

"Well, I hope that it lasts then," Cherry nodded. "If I know this town, things can change quickly, especially with what's going on with you guys from Cartoon Network, whether or not you got your own show or hosted Cartoon Cartoon Fridays or not."

"Cherry, who do you think the Fallen Leader is?" Cathleen then asked. "Any guesses?"

"Well, that's the complicated thing," Cherry said. "There's everyone here in Storybrooke and those from Cartoon Network."

"Do you have any guesses on who though?" Cathleen asked.

"My prime suspect from Storybrooke is Dr. Whale," Cherry narrowed her eyes. "We tried dating once and it ended horribly. I don't wanna talk about it, but after I found out about my special powers from the other side, he's been more or less my punching bag."

"My prime suspect is that it could be a villain from Cartoon Network." Cathleen replied.

"You wanna be more specific?" Cherry asked as Hard Luck splashed around. "One of the darker ones maybe... Like Katz or Aku?"

"Yeah." Cathleen then nodded.

"I just don't know." Cherry shrugged.

"People mentioned Ursula and Facilier..." Cathleen said.

"Those would be my parents..." Cherry narrowed her eyes dangerously. "And I know that my mother wouldn't hurt people that I care about since I'm her precious little pearl."

"And what about your dad?" Cathleen asked. "Though I never knew your parents would end up being those two."

"It's a long story," Cherry replied as she crossed her arms. "Besides, I don't know much about him, but he's on the darker, other side of life." 

"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Cathleen said.

Hard Luck continued to swim happily and unknown to him, someone was swimming under the water, very close to him.

"I wish Sherlock Holmes was in Storybrooke," Cherry sulked as she splashed her feet in the water, though she sat on the riverbank. "I bet he could help us. I'm honestly shocked that he wasn't."

Hard Luck soon poked his head out of the water and spat some out. "Are you sure you don't wanna come in, Miss Cherry?" he then asked. "The water's great."

"Thanks, Hard Luck, but I'm fine," Cherry told him. "I just have too much on my mind right now."

"I hate to see any of my friends being upset." Hard Luck replied.

"I'll be fine," Cherry said. "I'm glad you're feeling better though."

"It's all thanks to you girls," Hard Luck replied. "I hope we can get more of the What a Cartoon gang on our side."

Cathleen was about to say something until she then suddenly sniffed the air and smelled something. "Hey, guys; I think we got a problem," she then warned them. "I smell someone coming."

"Where is it coming from?" Cherry asked.

"It's coming from underwater!" Cathleen warned.

"You smell something underwater?" Cherry asked.

"This is no time for jokes." Cathleen rolled her eyes.

"All right, let's see here..." Cherry said as she climbed up and over and walked off.

"You can't run away!" Cathleen called out before she saw what Cherry was doing. "Oh."

Cherry soon ran right back and jumped into the water, growing a mermaid tail and soon looked around under the water. She then saw something with glowing eyes swimming toward them. "Crap!" she then yelped before she came back up to the surface and looked back at Cathleen. "Get Hard Luck! Hurry!"

"What? What is it?" Cathleen asked.

"There's something down there!" Cherry replied.

"What is it?" Cathleen asked.

"I don't know and I'm not gonna find out!" Cherry told her before giving her Hard Luck. "C'mon, we gotta get out of here!"

"But we were having fun in the water." Hard Luck pouted.

"I SAID MOVE IT!" Cherry urged.

"This does sound serious." Cathleen said as they moved Hard Luck away and out of the water.

Cherry's waist glowed and she soon had her legs again and they soon got away from the lake just at the nick of time. The creature in the water was shown to be a certain alligator with an orange shirt, though his eyes looked blood red all around as he snarled. He looked more aggressive than a regular cartoon alligator, especially the one that Hard Luck had known for his whole life and he snarled, splashing the water in dismay.

* * *

Eventually, Cherry, Cathleen, and Hard Luck made it back into town. 

"So what's the plan now, Cherry?" Cathleen asked.

"I guess we'll just get something from Granny's Diner and think more of who could've done this," Cherry shrugged. "Maybe a Storybrooke villain's teaming up with some Cartoon Network villains."

"I guess that's possible too," Cathleen replied. "What villains do you know around here?"

"Well... Regina when she was The Evil Queen, plus there's Zelena who's her sister and The Wicked Witch of the West, Hades from The Underworld when he took Killian AKA Captain Hook--" Cherry began.

"Captain Hook! Maybe _he_ did it!" Cathleen suggested.

"No, he's a good guy around here," Cherry shook her head. "Peter Pan's the real villain of Neverland."

"Peter Pan?" Cathleen asked as she couldn't believe that statement.

"Trust me, you don't wanna cross that kid," Cherry replied. "This world really changes your childhood perspective on things. Also The Snow Queen... Maybe Mr. Hyde..." she then paused thoughtfully. 

"I just can't believe Ursula and Dr. Facilier are your parents," Cathleen said. "What's next? I'm Ruby's long-lost sister or something?"

"Hey, with Henry's family tree, I believe anything," Cherry rolled her eyes. "Don't get me started on that."

Hard Luck shivered nervously.

"You okay?" Cherry asked.

"All this talk about bad guys is giving me the heebie-jeebies," Hard Luck frowned. "I hope we don't run into any."

"Oh... Don't worry," Cathleen said as she pet the duck. "We'll keep you nice and safe. Cherry won't let anything happen to you."

"Yeah... I'll think of something... Eventually," Cherry said softly. "Gosh, this must be what it was like to be Emma when she was The Savior of Storybrooke. There's just gotta be some way to round up all of the classic characters and get their memories back."

"And that's what Emma did in Storybrooke?" Cathleen guessed.

"Oh, yeah, but it took a lot of trial and error," Cherry nodded. "Believe me, it was not easy for her. There was a lot going on for her." she then told Cathleen the story of the legendary woman known as Emma Swan who was Storybrooke's savior, the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming AKA Mary Margaret Blanchard and David Nolan in this world and how Henry found her and brought her to town since he was her biological son and how she broke Regina's curse as The Evil Queen and restored everybody's memories that had been frozen in time for 28 years.

* * *

**_Meanwhile, at a top-secret location..._ **

"Those girls are getting good... Real good..." A dark and mysterious figure said, hiding behind a set of monitors. "They already found Hard Luck Duck and somehow he's been restored to his proper self... Agent Sledgehammer O'Possum was able to run free, but nothing changed for him, at least nto yet... We'll have to fix that."

"What should we do, Boss?" Yuckie Duck asked with a shrug.

"We'll just have to keep trying and get them out of town," The figure, The Fallen Leader, replied in a dark and grave voice. "Especially to get what you want the most: to be remembered and go down in cartoon history."

"Duh... Didn't we have a chance at that ourselves?" Junior the bear asked as he stood with George. 

"Sure... Back in the 1940's before Cartoon Network even existed and you were reimagined like that stupid dog-like dinosaur from that modern Stone Age family," The Fallen Leader snorted. "But even you couldn't save yourselves from being brought back in 1995 with gross-out humor or slapstick comedy that makes The Looney Tunes look like something on PBS Kids or Nick Jr when people could be watching something like Ren & Stimpy on Nickelodeon."

"At least we got a Christmas special which is more than we can say for most of youse." George bragged.

George and Junior soon laughed together until The Fallen Leader whacked them on the head with a mallet.

"SILENCE!" The Fallen Leader glared. "I can't believe this is my so-called crew... A sickeningly cute little duckling with a gator bodyguard, a sadistic Schandenfruede enjoying rodent, two rejects from The Golden Age of Animation that got chewed up and then thrown up with an ugly art style that's making your original creator roll in his grave 15 years later, a rat with a fly for his only friend, two stupid fat cats who Top Cat wouldn't even wanna befriend, some astronaut jerk and his robot friend, a land-living shark that would make Jabberjaw and Kenny the Shark on Discovery Kids blush with a lynx buddy, some Canadian mounted mutt, a disgusting and revolting duck that Duckman himself would be ashamed of, a bird and a worm, not to mention a psycho pizza delivery boy who lost his shit just because he didn't get a tip for his pizza delivery?!" The list then went on and on. "I could go on about this forever, but you're all forgotten about and has-beens for a reason! And for what? To be replaced by a brainless muscleman who tries and fails to pick up women, an annoyingly fat bovine and a short-tempered cock of the block, a toddler genius, a cowardly dog, and three babies with superpowers!"

"You seem to be exaggerating a bit, Boss." A blonde boy with a red baseball cap said.

"SHUT UP!" The Fallen Leader hissed. "Why don't you do something useful and get in a fight with your sister or turn down your grandfather's oxygen or something? Apparently that's all you're good at!"

The boy winced a bit and stepped back.

"This world is very complicated, especially since we were sent here where I was sure we would see the last of those meddling adventure girls or Toon Saviors as they're called now," The Fallen Leader scowled. "We need to run them out of town and give up."

"How do we make them give up?" A blue male poodle, better known as Shake, soon asked as he shivered a bit nervously. "I-I-I mean... That emo girl seems to know everybody even though her tomboy friend doesn't know much about this Storybrooke."

"Yes, I'm aware..." The Fallen Leader replied before smirking. "That's why we gotta mess with their trust."

"Mess with their trust?" A short moose asked. "Eh, what do ya mean by that exactly?"

"Well, even though the emo girl knows everyone here well originally from this stupid town, we'll get the two girls to split up and leave town," The Fallen Leader informed while still smirking. "Who does the emo girl trust the most in this town?"

The What a Cartoon group looked at each other, looking like they were trying to think, though their leader asked them a rhetorical question.

"That old Granny lady?" Zeek the pig guessed.

"That librarian?" A nervous orange cat named Flinch guessed.

"CHICKENS?!" A fatter white possum named Podunk guessed.

"No, no, no, you simpletons!" The Fallen Leader growled and face-palmed. "Must I do everything myself?!"

The group smiled nervously and warily from the anger and wrath.

"Luckily I was able to swipe this when I had the chance so I can use magic in this world of magic too," The Fallen Leader replied while clutching a grayish silver book with golden clasps. "This ultimate Book of Spells~"

"Where'd you get that, Boss?" A redheaded girl in a red and yellow striped shirt asked.

"That fool Gold's pawnshop," The Fallen Leader smirked while opening the book with glowing fingertips. "Swiped it when his new intern Eddy wasn't lookin' and was too busy trying to woo that Nazz girl when he was supposed to be doing inventory in the backroom. With this, no one will see or know who I am in Storybrooke."

And then suddenly, there was an ancient Latin spell spoken to demonstrate what spell would be used and then... POOF! A puff of purple smoke soon cast all over The Fallen Leader and soon, in place was a black-haired girl with green eyes in a black and yellow jumpsuit with her hair tied into a ponytail with blue and white sneakers. 

"Whoa! Who are _you_ supposed to be?" Pizza Boy asked with wide eyes. "And can I have your phone number?~"

"It's me, dingus," The girl scoffed and whacked him in the face with the spell book before taking out a backpack and putting it in there. "But in this form, you may know me as Erin Miguzi. I'll infiltrate Storybrooke City in this form to corrupt and manipulate Ross and Butler to run them out of town so that they can't break the spell and save the Cartoon Network characters~" she then added with a dark grin on her face.

"Oh..." The What a Cartoon group merely blinked.

"And later on, I'll play with their trust a little and do something super dark and sinister tonight before coming back to you guys with the official spell book created by Rumplestiltskin and once owned by The Queen of Hearts," Erin continued fiendishly. "And luckily for me, no one really remembers Erin either since Miguzi died out in 2007."

"Before the big alien invasion?" Luther asked.

"Yes, you idiot, before the big alien invasion," Erin nodded before going out a secret door, going straight for Storybrooke City. "I just hope you numbskulls are smart enough to remember who I am by the time I come back."

The What a Cartoon gang wished their Fallen Leader good luck in the manipulation plan. It was going to be interesting, that's for sure. Will The Fallen Leader succeed or will Cherry and Cathleen catch on? I suppose we'll find out what happens after the next chapter... 


	12. Chapter 11

Cherry and Cathleen were soon walking off back to their respective jobs.

"So, I'll get off around 5:00 and you should too," Cherry said to Cathleen. "I guess we'll meet up at Granny's and get some dinner together once we punch out."

"You think we should stick together?" Cathleen guessed.

"Yes, I do," Cherry nodded. "Especially since you don't know much about Storybrooke like I do."

"Who's gonna look after Hard Luck then?" Cathleen then asked.

"I think maybe you should," Cherry suggested. "Both of you stay out of trouble."

"I never get in trouble, Miss Cherry," Hard Luck smiled innocently. "You try to relax and get some rest. You look cranky like you need a nap."

Cathleen chuckled a bit to that.

"Oh, ha, ha, ha," Cherry rolled her eyes. "So, yeah, we'll meet up at the diner after we finish work. We'll text though when we get back to the Bed & Breakfast or Gold's mansion." 

"Deal." Cathleen nodded.

"We'll be there." Hard Luck smiled. 

"Right then," Cherry replied as she walked off. "I'll see you there then."

* * *

And with that, Cherry, Cathleen, and Hard Luck split up until their next meeting point. Cathleen soon tied her apron on and went to get to work as she had Hard Luck close to her so that he wouldn't get hurt or lost while Ruby was trying to teach Bubbles and Buttercup what to do since they were in a Work Study program for school. The intern who was supposed to come was soon shown as Cathleen gasped at the sight of him.

"Good to see you promised to get to work like you promised, Mr. Salazaar." Granny said to the teenage boy.

"Yeah, no problem, Mrs. Lucas," Rex reassured. "It's my pleasure, really."

"Get to work then," Granny nodded. "Ruby, Bubbles, Buttercup, and Cathleen are already at their posts."

"Yes, ma'am," Rex replied as he went to go and wash his hands. "I look forward to this internship."

"I sure hope so." Granny said as she went to where she needed to go.

Cathleen was hiding around sheepishly before she peeked her head out towards Rex from where she was hidden. Rex flinched slightly before looking around and behind him as Cathleen further hid herself. He then shrugged and went to his job for the day.

"Cathleen, get out from behind there," Bubbles told the young werewolf as she walked over. "Mrs. Granny will be mad if you're not doing your job."

"Sorry, Bubbles," Cathleen said as she soon came out of hiding since Rex was out of sight right now. "I guess I just dropped something."

"I sure hope that it wasn't that duckling friend of yours," Bubbles giggled. "He's adorable~"

Then Cathleen had an idea. "So... You haven't met Hard Luck, have you?" she then asked the former Powerpuff Girl.

"Nope, I haven't, but he's a lot nicer than that pink rat who keeps hissing at me, trying to bite me," Bubbles replied. "He's a big fat meany pants~"

"Oh, he just takes some getting used to," Cathleen said as she walked off. "I'll be back in a second, I think you should meet Hard Luck up close."

"Oh, sure, but maybe during our break?" Bubbles suggested.

"No! You need to see Hard Luck right now!" Cathleen urged.

Bubbles blinked, confused and a bit startled.

"I-I mean... You'll like him a lot," Cathleen insisted. "You should really become friends."

"I really shouldn't right now, Cathleen," Bubbles replied. "Mrs. Granny doesn't like it when Ruby flirts with customers or when I play with cute and fuzzy 'aminals'."

"No, seriously, you go talk to Hard Luck and I'll take care of Granny," Cathleen urged. "Trust me, it might be good for you."

"I'm sorry, Cathleen, but not right now." Bubbles shook her head.

"Hey! Can I get some service over here?" A voice called out.

"Look, why don't you check on Table 10 for me?" Bubbles suggested, giving Cathleen a notepad and a pencil. "We have a lot of work to do."

"But Bubbles--!" Cathleen called out before sighing. "Oh, well... Maybe later. It's not like there's a deadline or anything."

"You say somethin', Cath?" Buttercup asked as she came in, carrying a bunch of dishes in her arms.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing, Buttercup," Cathleen replied. "I'm just thinking to myself."

"Well, you better get your work done," Buttercup suggested. "Mrs. Lucas doesn't like dilly-dallying in her diner."

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard that before," Cathleen shrugged as she soon went to go over to Table 10 to see someone waiting for their order to be taken. "Uh, welcome to Granny's Diner. May I take your order? I don't recommend the meatloaf."

"That's an interesting sentiment," The customer said, holding up the menu before lowering it with a smirk, showing to be Erin. "I think I'll have grilled cheese today actually with some cola."

"Sure, that sounds--" Cathleen nodded before doing a double-take. "Wait... I know you..."

"You do?" Erin replied. 

"Yeah," Cathleen said. "You're that girl Erin from when Cartoon Network did that after-school Miguzi block to show shows like _Totally Spies_ , _Teen Titans,_ and _Mucha Lucha_. You were friends with those monsters."

"Heh... Well, you're right about that," Erin smirked and nodded. "I mean, I would think so. I thought this place was called Storybrooke City."

"Erin, you have no idea..." Cathleen remarked to herself.

"So, uh, could I get some food?" Erin asked. "I'm rather hungry and you're a waitress and all."

"Oh! Right..." Cathleen nodded before hitting herself in the forehead and took out a notepad, remembering to do her job in order to appease Granny and Ruby. "Erm... What would you like?"

"Hmm... I think I'll have that fish special if it's not too much trouble," Erin decided as she glanced at her menu. "A side of fries and a diet cola too."

"All right, sounds good," Cathleen nodded as she jotted down the order. "I just can't believe you're actually here, Erin. You're one of Cartoon Network's mascots. What's next? I'm gonna meet TOM or Super Chunk?"

"I don't know those guys, but I guess you never know in a place like this." Erin shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess that's true," Cathleen nodded before she went to the back to give Floyd the order. "The fish special with some fries and a diet cola for Table 4."

Floyd nodded and soon began to cook that order once he was given it.

"I can't believe it... Erin's here..." Cathleen said to herself.

"If I were you, I'd focus less on getting starstruck and more on doing your job before Granny throws you out on the streets." Rex smirked as he walked over.

Cathleen looked over before gasping and blushing. "Yes, of course," she then nodded bashfully. "So... Uh... You come here often?"

"Some of the times," Rex smirked at her. "Sometimes it feels like I went to bed at home where I knew everybody, then I woke up in a strange new place with different people. You know what I mean?" he then asked.

"Uh... I'm not sure," Cathleen shrugged as she rubbed her arm. "I mean, I never thought much about Cartoon Network and the memories I had from over 20 years ago until after that creepy guy showed up with those kids after my birthday."

"Well, first of all, Happy belated Birthday, and secondly, you seem like an adventurous young lady," Rex remarked. "I feel like I've known someone like you in a past life."

"Yeah... You could say that..." Cathleen nodded bashfully as Ruby walked by with another order before she smirked at watching Rex and Cathleen interact as it was clear that there was something between the two.

Granny shook her head though as she had the same feeling and just hoped that it wouldn't interfere with Cathleen's work and promise to work in the diner until further notice. Hard Luck even popped out of Cathleen's pocket and chuckled from where he hid as he looked between the two as they bonded like they used to, once upon a long time ago.

* * *

Cherry was soon visiting with the one known as David Nolan at the Storybrooke Pet Shelter. 

"Good afternoon, Dr. Thatcher." David greeted the veterinarian as he walked inside with Cherry.

The veterinarian nodded his head as he looked over some files.

"You sure Gold doesn't mind you hanging around me?" David asked Cherry. "He doesn't seem to like me very much."

"That's just cuz he's smarter than you are, especially being Henry's cooler grandfather," Cherry teased. "Also, he won't mind. I'm just trying to clear my head about this whole mission thing. I'm stumped on what to do with Cathleen."

"Well, maybe some animals can cheer you up with their bright and shiny faces," David suggested. "You like cats, right?"

"Yeah, they're more relatable," Cherry nodded before facing Dr. Thatcher. "Excuse me? Can I go in the back to see the animals there?"

"Sure you can, maybe you can help cheer them up, especially this one puppy with his doggy daddy." Dr. Thatcher.

"Doggie Daddy..." Cherry repeated as that seemed to spark to her somehow. "Hmm... I wonder..."

"Go on in," Dr. Thatcher allowed. "No one needs surgery luckily."

"Thanks, Dr. Thatcher." Cherry and David replied.

David soon took out the key and unlocked the backdoor and he went inside with Cherry to meet the animals inside. Cherry met very familiar faces of the dogs and cats, including two stupid-looking dogs that looked like a big sheepdog and a little wiener dog, a pink cowardly dog, a group of colorful cats led by a yellow cat, a very tall and long gray dog with a green collar who nearly looked a lot like Scooby-Doo, and many, many more. Cherry recognized and knew most of them, but tried not to say anything too overwhelming or strange. One pair that stood out to her the most had two orange dogs, one adult and one puppy, who seemed to be father and son. 

"David, do you mind if I had some one-on-one time with one of the animals?" Cherry asked the blonde man. "I think I need to... Talk."

"Uh... Okay," David nodded. "Just remember to wash your hands before and after. I gotta get some of these guys some lunch."

Cherry nodded in return.

"So, who do you wanna talk to?" David asked, coming beside her. "Maybe those cats?"

"Actually, I think I'll talk to that puppy." Cherry said as she pointed out the orange puppy who was with the adult orange dog.

"All right," David replied as he pushed down on the door to open up the cage to let the orange puppy out as Cherry used hand sanitizer before holding the puppy carefully and gently. "Remember to be careful and I'll be right here if you need anything."

"Thanks, David." Cherry nodded before she walked off with the puppy to sit and talk with him, letting him rest on the fluffy bed that had a toy bone, ball of yarn, a stuffed mouse, a rubber ball, and a couple of saucers filled with pet food and water. 

The orange puppy shivered as he looked up at Cherry, looking a bit scared and nervous. David smiled and waved in a friendly way before leaving Cherry and the puppy alone.

"All right," Cherry said to the puppy, putting her hands together. "Where'd you come from? What's your name? Who's your daddy?"

The puppy blinked and looked up at her, being silent.

"It's okay, you can talk in front of me, I'm cool like that," Cherry said to him. "Plus if my hunch is right about you is correct, you have to talk, okay?"

The puppy looked at her before shrugging and nodding.

"You're Augie Doggie, aren't you?" Cherry then asked. "And that was your Doggie Daddy in your cage with you?"

The puppy looked wide-eyed.

"Well? What is it?" Cherry asked. "Yes or no?"

"...Y-Y-Yes," The puppy soon spoke, revealing himself to be the one and only Augie Doggie. "Yes, you're right."

"Awesome! Score 1 for me," Cherry smirked, giving herself a high-five. "So, you doing okay?" she then asked calmly and carefully. "You look very shook up."

"Oh, I am..." Augie nodded. "E-E-Especially with bein' away from my daddy~"

"Well, don't worry, I won't take up too much of your time," Cherry said to him. "Maybe you can help me out with what's going on around here. I don't know how to tell you this, but you and everyone else around here is from a station called Cartoon Network and you had all of your memories taken away."

"I remember..." Augie nodded. 

"You do?" Cherry asked with wide eyes.

"Yes," Augie explained. "An animal's memory never changes, especially to that of an elephant."

"So you and the other animals remember and know who you are?" Cherry asked.

"Y-Y-Yes, we do," Augie nodded. "N-N-No one l-l-listens to animals though... I-I-It's like n-n-no one u-understands us. W-W-O-O-One of us told this one spotted d-d-dog w-w-when we had the ch-ch-chance... H-He tried to tell s-s-someone else... B-But no one would listen to him."

"You told a spotted dog, huh?" Cherry asked before thinking about it and remembered seeing one consistent dog throughout Storybrooke from when she used to visit and had her adventures in this town before it was transformed. "Pongo... That's Archie's dog. Huh... You'd think being a former cricket that he'd be perceptive about what his dog wants to say or something."

"N-N-No one is like you..." Augie said. "T-T-They say h-humans can't speak with a-a-animals."'

"Let's just say I'm a special kind of person," Cherry replied. "Now, which one of you tried to tell Pongo and Dr. Hopper about what's going on?"

"M-M-My uncle..." Augie replied. "H-H-He's not here a-a-anymore... I-I-I guess he g-g-gave up or g-g-got c-c-caught."

"Your uncle?" Cherry asked before pausing. "I don't remember you having an uncle on your show."

"I-I-It's a lo-lo-long s-s-story," Augie said. "B-B-But he w-w-was with us o-o-one n-night and he was able to escape, b-b-but w-w-we haven't s-s-seen Uncle M-Moxy since."

"Oh, my... I'm sorry to hear that..." Cherry frowned softly. "That must be so rough."

"I-It was," Augie nodded. "I-I-I miss him v-very much... Th-Th-That's all any of u-us can t-tell you though."

"Hmm... Very interesting... Thank you for telling me, Augie," Cherry replied. "Do you wanna go back to your dad now?"

"Y-Yes, pl-pl-please..." Augie said hopefully. "N-N-No offense, b-b-but I trust my d-d-daddy more and f-f-feel more c-c-comfortable ar-ar-around you."

"I understand," Cherry nodded before she scooped him up gently and carefully. "David? I'm done!" she then called out.

David looked over and soon took Augie away from her, allowing her to use more hand sanitzer. "Did you guys have a good talk?" he asked with a small smile.

"Yeah, we did," Cherry nodded before putting her hands in her pockets. "Thanks for letting me talk to him."

"Of course," David smiled. "I just hope you found out something interesting." 

"Indeed... About Uncle Moxy and--" Cherry replied before pausing thoughtfully. "Wait... Moxy? ...No one's seen or heard about that guy since 1993... I wonder if... If he's corrupted from years of being forgotten about and he's trying to plan revenge on the newer Cartoon Network?" she then mumbled slightly.

"You say something, Cherry?" David then asked.

"Oh, uh, nothing," Cherry grinned bashfully before she took out her notebook and quickly wrote that idea down to talk it over with Cathleen later. "I have to talk to Cathleen when we get off work today."

"Well, all right," David replied. "I hope you had a good visit today."

"I did, thanks again, David," Cherry said. "It really helped clear my head."

David smiled at her. Cherry smiled back before she decided to get going, then sent a text to Cathleen about meeting up later with some new information.

* * *

After a while of hard work, Cathleen was free to go, and was soon punching out.

"It was really nice bonding with you, Cathleen," Rex said as she was about to leave. "Will you come back for dinner?"

"Uh, maybe," Cathleen shrugged. "I see this food all the time and while it is good, I can see why Ruby would eat somewhere else sometimes. Seems like she was born in this kitchen."

"I know what you mean," Rex chuckled. "Well, I hope you do come back. Especially during our talk over your break with Buttercup and Bubbles."

Cathleen smiled before feeling her phone and took it out to see a new text message.

"What is it?" Rex asked.

"It's Cherry," Cathleen replied. "She wants to meet up at the inn to have a quick talk."

"Well, all right, I won't keep you," Rex nodded. "I'll see you later then?"

"See you later," Cathleen smiled before she left the diner after a long and tough day of work. "Bye, Rex."

"Goodbye." Rex smiled back and nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter was kinda short, but I wanted to get this idea out as soon as it was fresh on my mind and just to let you know I haven't abandoned this story... At least, not yet.


	13. Chapter 12

Cherry decided to meet Cathleen at the Bed & Breakfast. The two good friends were soon sitting together on Cathleen's temporary bed.

"You met Augie Doggie?" Cathleen asked. "As in a Hanna-Barbera character?"

"Yeah, a lot of the animals have gone feral, but luckily, I can still talk to them," Cherry explained. "You probably can too."

"Well, okay," Cathleen shrugged. "I met someone interesting too myself."

"Yeah?" Cherry asked. "And who would that be?"

"Does the name Erin mean anything to you?" Cathleen asked.

Cherry stopped to think, looking thoughtful for a moment or two. "Erin... Erin... Erin..." she then paused thoughtfully. "So far all I can think of is the spy girl mascot for that insurance company like The GEICO gecko before they decided to overexploit those cavemen and that TV Show spin-off no one really liked or cared about."

"No, not Erin Esurance. Erin from _Miguzi_." Cathleen clarified.

"Oh... Ohh," Cherry then said once it hit her. "I remember that... I used to watch Miguzi after school in middle school when I'd visit my granny."

"Right..." Cathleen nodded. "She also didn't seem to know about TOM from Toonami or Super Chunk from 1994 back when _2 Stupid Dogs_ or _Captain Planet_ was on TV before a revival in 2009 with The Noods."

"Captain Planet..." Cherry smirked slightly. "Time to either go play outside or go on the World Wide Web. Interesting though... Did she have anything to say?" she then asked. 

"Well, she seemed to have some memory of Cartoon Network, but at the same time not a lot," Cathleen explained. "She remembered hosting the Miguzi block, but she recalls this place being called Storybrooke City. So I'm not sure what her situation is."

"Hmm... You might wanna keep a closer eye on her," Cherry suggested as she nodded while taking in the information. "She could probably help us out in this mission."

"Well, I sure hope that she can," Cathleen replied. "It oughta make things pretty interesting and hopeful for us."

"Yeah, it should." Cherry remarked.

"So, you said that you heard from Augie Doggie?" Cathleen then asked.

"Yeah, I saw him at the pet shelter with David," Cherry explained. "He told me that an animal's memory never changes... Somehow, and he talked with Archie's dog, Pongo, but they couldn't tell anyone since no one around here talks to animals."

"Really? Not even Mary Margaret?" Cathleen asked. "I thought you said that she was Snow White in The Enchanted Forest?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean that Snow White can talk to animals," Cherry replied. "At least... Not this one. Also, he said something about an uncle."

"Augie Doggie has an uncle?" Cathleen asked.

"Apparently!" Cherry replied with a mere shrug of her shoulders. "Apparently Moxy is his uncle. The Moxy Show... Cartoon Network's first ever original program when they showed reruns of Hanna-Barbera cartoons before they had original programming which would then give us The Cartoon Cartoons like _Dexter's Lab_ , _Johnny Bravo_ , _Cow & Chicken_, _The Powerpuff Girls_ , _The Eds_ , and _Courage the Cowardly Dog_."

"Whoa..." Cathleen whispered in amazement. "So you think that Moxy could be The Fallen Leader that the What a Cartoon gang is talking about?"

"It's my theory anyway," Cherry shrugged. "I wouldn't put it past him. I mean, think about it... No one ever talks about his show and he wasn't even involved in the 20th birthday for Cartoon Network in 2012 while everyone else was there, even Scrappy-Doo."

"That's pretty sad when even Scrappy-Doo was invited to a big party like that." Cathleen chuckled with a small smirk.

"Ah, ah, ah, watch it... I know some people who might be offended by that Scrappy comment." Cherry warned sternly.

"Sorry~" Cathleen said innocently then. "So, do we have a lead or what?" she then asked.

"We might have something with Erin and Moxy," Cherry nodded. "Though Augie said that Moxy's gone missing ever since he went to look for outside help. Maybe if we find Moxy, we can find something else..."

"Hmm..." Cathleen paused before gasping. "Oh! I know... If she isn't too busy, I could try to look with Ruby in 'Wolf Form'. Two noses are better than one."

"So you're gonna track Moxy?" Cherry asked. "Don't you, like, need something of his in order to track him easier?"

"Yeah, you're right... But I'm sure that we'll be able to think of something..." Cathleen replied. 

"Hopefully soon..." Cherry agreed before flinching as her phone vibrated and she soon took it out to check something. "Hm?"

"If you girls are thirsty, meet me in front of my shop at 8:00. My treat. -RG" The message read. 

"What is it?" Cathleen asked. "Is Mr. Gold trying to get your attention again?"

"...It's nothing." Cherry replied before she just sent a thumb's up in response to the message. 

"Come on... You can tell me." Cathleen said, coming a bit closer.

"...Well, fine," Cherry sighed a bit. "Yes, it's him, and he's invited us and wants to treat us to drinks tonight." 

"Both of us?" Cathleen blinked. "Well, I guess that sounds interesting. Are we gonna go?" she then asked.

"I guess we could take a break from our adventure for just a little bit," Cherry replied. "Knowing this place, he'll take us to The Rabbit Hole."

"Is that a night club like The House of Mouse?" Cathleen asked.

"Nah, it's a popular bar in Storybrooke," Cherry shook her head. "Pretty sure it came from Wonderland considering the name. I've been around there a couple of times and I'd have a girls' night with some friends like Ruby down there."

"So is it a pretty good place?" Cathleen asked.

"Yeah, it's pretty good," Cherry said. "I have a good friend down there named Lilac and sometimes on certain days, I worked down there and she'd help me wait tables and serve drinks."

"You never mentioned a girl named Lilac around me before," Cathleen replied, sounding confused. "I think that this is the first time I'm hearing about it."

"Yes, but you have to remember, I lost my memories about this place some time ago before we accepted our new adventure together after coming into Storybrooke," Cherry reminded and explained. "I guess I was kinda like the townspeople around here until Emma showed up. I was put under my own curse and had my memories taken away back when Regina was still being The Evil Queen before she reformed."

"Oh." Cathleen then said, now realizing.

"Yes, I know it's complicated, but hopefully things get better," Cherry said. "Now, they have snack foods there, so if you wanna get something to eat, we could probably pick something up and meet Mr. Gold for drinks."

"Cool. I think I might go for a steak." Cathleen then said.

"Sheesh... Eat some chicken or other food once in a while," Cherry rolled her eyes. "I swear, steak is all you eat nowadays."

Cathleen was about to say something.

"I know, you're a meatatarian, you only eat meat, but that doesn't mean steak is the only meat that exists," Cherry interrupted before she could say something. "Hmm... Our clothes are really piling up, huh?" she then asked, seeing the basket in Cathleen's room.

"Yeah... Mrs. Lucas told me that she had washing machines around here, but they're all broken down," Cathleen replied. "What do I do now?"

"Ah, relax," Cherry told her. "We'll just visit the laundromat and get our best clothes for later tonight. So you're sure you don't mind going out for drinks for us even though you'll kinda be a third wheel?"

"I'll be fine," Cathleen said before she went to pick up and organize her basket. "Let's get our clothes cleaned up."

Cherry nodded as she got up with Cathleen and went to come down to The Laundromat & Dry Cleaners place.

* * *

Cherry gathered her own laundry with some detergent and some dryer sheets as they walked downtown together to the city's laundromat. A few other people were there. Cherry glanced in through the window before they went inside.

"What is it, Cherry?" Cathleen asked.

"Sorry... Just looking at something interesting~" Cherry smirked.

Cathleen looked curious before shrugging and joining Cherry at her side. Both girls looked in through the window and saw what the rather interesting sight was. Regina smiled as she stood with Jack as he visited the local laundromat. They weren't alone though, there was Johnny Bravo, though the blonde muscleman was wearing his pajamas.

"I ship it." Cathleen remarked about Regina and Samurai Jack.

"Regina could definitely use some love in her life after what happened to Daniel." Cherry agreed.

"Daniel? Who's Daniel?" Cathleen then asked.

"Never mind that now." Cherry shook her head, deciding not to talk about it.

"Aw, come on, Cher. You can tell me." Cathleen said as they were on their way inside the laundromat.

"...I'll tell you later, okay?" Cherry suggested as her tone grew quiet and hushed.

"...Okay." Cathleen shrugged as they came inside.

They soon entered and began to get their laundry ready and together.

"Oh... Cherry... Cathleen... What a surprise..." Regina greeted once she saw the two. "How interesting to see you here."

"I'd say it's more interesting for me to see you here than you seeing us here," Cherry smirked. "Especially with your new friend there."

"Huh?" Regina blinked and blushed before glancing at the man she was joining for Laundry Day. "You mean Jack? Yeah... I suppose that's an interesting sight."

Cherry and Cathleen giggled a bit while Regina turned a bit redder in the face.

"So, what's new with you girls?" Regina asked them as they got their laundry together.

"Well... We've been invited to that place called The Rabbit Hole, I think was what you said, Cherry?" Cathleen informed before asking.

"Yeah, The Rabbit Hole." Cherry nodded.

"Ah, The Rabbit Hole... Such a nice place to unwind and have girls' night with," Regina smirked in approval. "A lot better than that old Æsop's Tables."

"Æsop's Tables?" Cathleen asked.

"That's another bar in Storybrooke owned by a man named Æsop," Regina explained. "Not terrible, but definitely not as popular as The Rabbit Hole."

"You might know Æsop from Æsop's Fables, those stories that tell a lesson, like _The Ant and the Grasshopper_ or _The Tortoise and the Hare_ ," Cherry explained to Cathleen. "But yeah, I totally agree, Gina."

"Ah, I see," Cathleen nodded. "Yeah... Mr. Gold invited us out for drinks."

"Ooh~..." Regina smirked at Cherry. "Is he hoping to rekindle some past feelings before you mysteriously disappeared on us, Cherry?"

"Maybe... I dunno..." Cherry shrugged. "Kinda weird of him to do that if that's his plan since he invited Cathleen too."

"You never know," Regina replied. "So you're going out tonight then?"

"Yeah, we might as well take a break from our adventure/mission for now," Cherry said. "I'd invite you to come with us, but, uh... You weren't exactly invited. No offense, I mean." she then added, hoping that didn't sound mean.

"No, it's all right, I understand," Regina replied. "I have to look after Henry anyway. You two have fun with Mr. Gold though, hopefully your evening out is better for him than when he found Lacey."

"Which was totally your fault by the way." Cherry reminded sternly.

"Yeah, but I was still corrupted back then," Regina retorted. "Not my fault."

"Mm-hmm..." Cherry narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "Yeah, you guys were pretty terrible to each other back then."

"Well, can you blame us?" Regina defended. "We had quite the history together back in The Enchanted Forest."

"Yeah, I know..." Cherry rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"You do you, Cherry... You do you." Regina replied as she came to help Jack once he walked over to her.

"Regina, could you help me move my robes?" Jack asked.

"Sure, Jack... Whatever you say~" Regina replied hopefully.

The two soon walked off together.

"Seriously... The Evil Queen and Samurai Jack..." Cherry remarked to herself. "And I thought I saw it all during my adventures in Storybrooke."

"Sounds like you had quite the stories," Cathleen said as they put their laundry together, taking out the quarters they needed. "So... Moxy is our candidate for The Fallen Leader?"

"It's my guess anyway," Cherry replied. "Despite being the first original Cartoon Network thing ever, no one remembers him, so it's my guess. I guess he thought the same could happen for the What a Cartoon gang for the ones who weren't chosen like Hard Luck or Sledgehammer O'Possum of course."

"That does make sense," Cathleen agreed. "Maybe we'll end up meeting him."

"It'd definitely be quite an experience." Cherry nodded.

"So... Lacey?" Cathleen asked. 

"Belle lost her memories at one point and Regina tricked her into being a heavy drinking party girl to get back at Mr. Gold at one point," Cherry explained. "So Belle became Lacey and quite frankly, I didn't like Lacey at all."

"I think I can see why." Cathleen nodded then.

* * *

After a while, the laundry job continued. Cathleen used her quarters to play some of the arcade games while Cherry was looking through the history book to see if there was anything else important that could be used for later. Eventually, Johnny and Jack came to check on their laundry together while Regina glanced over her shoulder, seeing the blonde macho muscleman himself. At least he wasn't drooling over her and hitting on her because that would be a grave mistake, especially with what Regina was capable of, being a former Evil Queen in The Enchanted Forest and the original feared and loathed, but "treasured" Mayor of Storybrooke. 

"Laundry Day?" The two men asked each other, unintentionally at the same time. 

Jack chuckled, pulling some sort of pink fabric out of the machine in front of him.

"Yep." Johnny nodded as he pulled out a black shirt of his.

"...You seem to like black shirts quite a lot." Jack noted to Johnny.

"And it looks like you like it in pink." Johnny replied as he pointed at the pink fabric.

"Jack, is there something you'd like to tell us?" Cherry smirked as she looked through her book.

"Not that there's anything wrong with that." Cathleen added, chuckling as she played Space Invaders.

Jack looked sheepish and a little embarrassed once he saw the fabric that he was holding was bright pink. Regina gave him a slightly stern look, wondering what that was all about.

"Uh... I'm just sayin'..." Johnny shrugged, not sure what to make of that himself.

Eventually, the door opened, and there was a certain ex-Powerpuff Girl there. "Oops!" Blossom said before running over on foot and came to the machine, taking out a nightgown that matched her color motif which was how Jack ended up with pink fabric in the first place before she smiled, feeling a bit mortified for both of them. "Sorry about that."

Cathleen gasped once she saw Blossom.

"Calm down," Cherry said. "Don't fangirl over her or even mention our adventures with her. She won't remember."

"Okay... Sorry..." Cathleen sighed.

Blossom soon walked by before looking over. "Do I know you two?" she then asked, seeing Cherry and Cathleen.

"I doubt it," Cherry replied. "We saw your sisters at Granny's Diner though."

"Ah, yes," Blossom nodded. "They took after school jobs while I'm hoping to become a motivational speaker when I grow up."

"Well, that sounds like fun." Cathleen said.

"Yep!" Blossom smiled. "Remember this as your keys to success when I'm all grown up: Never stop blossoming."

"Well, we wish you luck in that case, Bloss," Cherry said. "It was, uh, nice meeting you."

"Mm-hmm," Blossom smiled before her cell phone went off and she went to answer it. "Oh, excuse me. That's my boyf."

Cherry and Cathleen cringed as Blossom used modern lingo.

"Hey, Jared~... Nah, I was just picking up some laundry," Blossom said while using her phone. "#LaundryDay, am I right?"

Cherry and Cathleen cringed even more in the background.

"Yeah, I'll see you at the theater later, I just gotta run back home and finish up my homework, then I'll meet you there," Blossom said as she walked away instead of flying. "Just gotta check on Buttercup and Bubs first."

"Please make her stop talking." Cathleen begged.

"Man... This curse, whoever caused it, ruins everything," Cherry compained. "Hopefully we can get to the bottom of this mystery soon since Mystery Inc will probably be just as useless."

"Yeah... Most likely," Regina spoke up. "Especially since Velma works at the bookstore with Belle and I heard that that cowardly duo, Shaggy and Scooby, have taken up gym teacher jobs at the school."

"Well, that sounds pretty classic," Cherry remarked. "They were gym teachers at Ms. Grimwood's School for Ghouls after all."

"I guess at least it's something for you all." Regina shrugged with a small smile.

"We'll get there... Oh, boy, we'll get there..." Cherry sighed sharply.

* * *

Eventually, their laundry session ended as Cherry and Cathleen left, parting aways with Jack and Regina, and soon went to head back to Granny's Inn. Cherry sent messages to Gold about what she and Cathleen were doing and that he could pick them up at the inn for their night out tonight. Cathleen wore a dark blue dressy outfit, trying to not go for a dress or skirt since she was too much of a tomboy for a dress while Cherry was indifferent to wearing a dress these days and just wore mostly black with white stripes and her sparkling black shoes with hints of white. She also seemed to have a white streak in her hair now to match her outfit. 

"Well, tonight should at least be fun, right?" Cathleen asked.

"I'm sure once we take a break and unwind, we'll be able to think more clearly and enjoy this mini-vacation while we can," Cherry replied. "Who knows? Maybe an answer will hit us better once we get our minds off of our task at hand and have a couple of drinks."

"Yeah... I guess that's a pretty good idea," Cathleen said. "We shouldn't burn ourselves out."

"Hmph... Try telling me that when I was in college..." Cherry snorted and rolled her eyes a bit.

* * *

Eventually, the infamous black Cadalliac rode up in front of the inn and the horn honked a couple of times. Cherry held her hand up high and soon led Cathleen over to the car as they met Gold inside as he wore a bit of a fancier black suit, though he almost always wore suits, so it was a familiar sight, but he did seem more handsome that evening. At least to Cherry, though she didn't admit it out loud to her friend. 

"Nice suit." Cathleen said to Gold.

"Well, you know what they say, dearie," Gold shrugged with a small smirk. "Every girl's crazy about a sharp-dressed man. You two look very stunning though."

"Eh... Thanks, I guess." Cathleen shrugged.

"Let's just go and get our drink on," Cherry suggested. "We also had to get some chicken and steak real quick to calm down The Wolf Cath back here."

"Hey, I said I was hungry." Cathleen shrugged in defense.

"Yeah... I know..." Cherry merely crossed her arms as she sighed and glanced out the window.

"Let's just get going," Gold smiled as he drove away from the inn. "Off to The Rabbit Hole we go then." 


	14. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lilac is owned by a dear friend of mine.

A dark brown-haired man with green eyes was shown to be in front of the bar. He nodded at the three before they nodded back before they went over to The Rabbit Hole's door. Gold stepped inside The Rabbit Hole with Cherry and Cathleen. The two looked around, though it was mostly a curious case for Cathleen while Cherry readjusted and glanced around. She used to come here for ladies' night with Regina and a couple of other girl friends just to unwind from the workweek and hang out. 

"Welcome to The Rabbit Hole." The bartender greeted as he came to meet the three as they sat at the bar. 

"Thanks," Cathleen said. "You own this place?"

"You could say that," The bartender replied. "I can tell that you must be new around here."

"Uh... Yeah..." Cathleen shrugged bashfully. "Just visiting though."

"Well, it's always nice to see someone new in Storybrooke City." The bartender replied.

"Hey, Percy," Cherry greeted. "I'll have my usual. Do you remember it?"

"Certainly! Jabberwock Gin?" Percy replied, just to check.

"You remember." Cherry smirked.

"Of course I do," Percy smirked back before looking at Cathleen and Gold. "And how about you two? Scotch for you, Mr. Gold?"

"That would be just fine." Gold approved.

"I guess I'll try a Caterpillar Cocktail." Cathleen added.

"Very well then," Percy nodded. "I just gotta warn you though. The Caterpillar Cocktail is a bit smoky."

"I'll take my chances." Cathleen shrugged.

"Comin' right up!" Percy said before dashing off, quick like a bunny.

"He seems nice." Cathleen commented.

"Yeah, he's pretty cool," Cherry replied. "By the way, you should tell them that it isn't your birthday."

"...Why?" Cathleen asked.

"Cuz you get a special 'un-birthday drink'," Cherry smirked. "They love un-birthdays around here."

"Aye... Wonderland was weird and annoying like that..." Gold shook his head and rolled his eyes slightly with a small smirk on his face.

"Good to know." Cathleen replied.

The three soon took that time to relax and take it easy a bit. 

"Cigars? Cigarettes?" A voice asked before it sounded closer to the trio at the table. "Is that Cherry?"

Cherry blinked and looked over before seeing a familiar face. "Lilac?"

"Long time no see, buddy~" A young woman smirked as she winked at the perky goth while serving other people. 

"You two know each other?" Cathleen asked. "Then again, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Cherry seems to know everybody in Storybrooke."

"Well, she did help save us before she disappeared after Aurelia was born." Gold clarified to Cathleen.

"I knew that." Cathleen shrugged innocently.

"You never come out to see us anymore, Cherry~" Lilac pouted a bit. "Don't you miss us?"

"Of course I do... I did... I still do," Cherry defended. "Things just suddenly came up. Man, it's really good to see you, Lilac."

"I definitely missed you most of all~" Lilac pouted innocently. 

"I missed you too," Cherry nodded. "Especially on some nights, Percy would let me come in to work as a change of pace."

"Oh... Out with Mr. Gold, I see..." Lilac then said, seeing Cherry's company beside her before looking at Cathleen. "And who's this? This doesn't look like Belle." 

"This is Cathleen," Cherry introduced. "She's another friend of mine."

"So I see," Lilac remarked with a small smirk. "Pleased to meet you, Cathleen."

"Uh, pleased to meet you too," Cathleen said. "So you're a Storybrooke native, I'll guess? I definitely don't remember you on Cartoon Network."

"Wonderland native, but yes," Lilac nodded. "I used to be a flower if that makes sense~"

"You mean those mean flowers who made fun of Alice and made her feel bad?" Cathleen glared sharply.

"Easy, wolf girl," Cherry warned her werewolf friend. "Lilac's harmless. Especially around me."

"Well, it helps that you have a very pretty face~" Lilac giggled. "Would you like your cheese sticks tonight?"

"Hmm... Yeah... That sounds good." Cherry nodded. 

"All right then~" Lilac beamed as she walked off. "Anything for you, Cathleen or Mr. Gold?" she then asked.

"Eh, I guess I'll just take some pretzels." Cathleen shrugged.

"I'll have some too," Gold added. "The honey ones, please."

"Certainly," Lilac nodded at them before she walked off just as Percy came back with their drinks, smiling at them. "Yo, Chrys! We got a double order of pretzels! One plain, one honey!" she then called out.

"Coming, Lilac!" A voice called back.

"Chrys?" Cherry asked. "Lilac, you have a new worker I don't know about?"

"She said she came from The Meadow of Living Flowers in Wonderland like I did," Lilac replied with a shrug. "I don't recognize her in this form, but hopefully she's friendly to you like I am to you and vice versa."

Out came a young blonde woman with fluffy pigtails and icy blue eyes. She wore a Rabbit Hole waitress uniform like Lilac's. Something about her seemed vaguely familiar, but at the same time it didn't, especially to Cherry and Cathleen. 

"So... You're Chrys?" Cherry asked the blonde girl.

"Yeah, short for Chrysanthemum," The waitress nodded. "You must be Cherry. Lilac and Percy have told me some things about you."

"Oh... Go on..." Cherry smiled bashfully. 

"I'll get those pretzels, Lilac," Chrys smiled at her fellow waitress. "Eventually, of course."

"All right, Chrys." Lilac nodded. 

"Pretty nice evening so far," Cathleen commented to Gold and Cherry. "I can kinda see why you'd hang out around here. It seems pretty interesting."

"Yes, it's good to kick back once in a while over here," Gold replied. "Though I'm not very social around the others in Storybrooke. Most folks often avoided me."

"So you were Rumplestiltskin in The Enchanted Forest?" Cathleen asked. "But you were also dating Belle as in Belle from Beauty and the Beast?"

"Aye... I was also 'The Beast'," Gold nodded before he did his usual hand gesture as Rumplestiltskin. "Also, if you ask Killian Jones, I'm also 'The Crocodile'."

"Why'd he call you that?" Cathleen asked.

"Well... I kinda had scaly and golden skin as Rumplestiltskin after I took The Dark One's powers," Gold explained. "He said I seemed more like a crocodile and less like a man... I even took his hand from him, making him earn his nickname of 'Captain Hook'."

"Really? I thought Peter Pan cut off Captain Hook's hand?" Cathleen asked.

"There's a lot about us that you don't know, dearie," Gold replied softly. "I don't wish to discuss Peter Pan much longer."

"How come?" Cathleen asked.

"Never mind how come," Gold dismissed her, waving his hand and shaking his head. "We'll probably tell you more later or maybe even Cherry can give you the abridged version. Let's just say Peter Pan destroyed my father when I was a lad."

"Um, okay?" Cathleen replied, shrugging in response.

"Just trust me, dearie." Gold advised.

* * *

Eventually, the two had their pretzels and began snacking together.

"So, uh, Mr. Gold... Cherry really made a difference in Storybrooke, didn't she?" Cathleen asked. "I didn't even know Ursula and Dr. Facilier were her parents. I mean... I've met her parents and they were nothing like that."

"Those were probably the two who raised her after The Dark Curse separated all of us and took our memories, freezing us in time for 28 years until Emma Swan showed up," Gold said as he began to snack on the pretzels with her. "Like I've said... Our stories are very long and complicated for someone like you to understand."

Cathleen narrowed her eyes suddenly. "What do you mean someone like me? Are you saying I'm dumb?" she then asked firmly.

"No, dearie. I just mean someone who isn't as familiar with Storybrooke as Cherry or Emma are," Gold explained, not feeling scared of her fear in the slightest. "You are a bit ignorant to our world and where we came from. Mostly because Storybrooke didn't exist until Regina cast The Dark Curse as The Evil Queen. I didn't even remember it until I met Emma and she said her name when I happened to show up."

"Really?" Cathleen asked then.

"Indeed," Gold nodded before sipping his drink. "Back when Mary Margaret Blanchard and David Nolan were Snow White and Prince Charming, I demanded to know the name of their future child which I used as my loophole to remember the curse and 'wake up' and no one would know or realize it aside from Regina~"

"That's pretty twisted..." Cathleen remarked. "So... You would like it if Cherry stayed in Storybrooke, wouldn't you?"

"I'd love it, yes," Gold nodded. "But in the end, it's her choice, not mine. Belle, Aurelia, and I would be more than happy to have her stay with us of course."

Cathleen listened before nodding in silence.

* * *

The rest of the evening seemed to go alright with nothing bad happening. Gold soon excused himself to visit the restroom, leaving Cherry and Cathleen alone briefly.

"So, did you guys have a good talk?" Cherry asked Cathleen. "Seemed like you two found something interesting to talk about."

"Just more about Storybrooke's history and everything," Cathleen said. "Mr. Gold definitely seems hopeful and excited about you staying behind here."

"Ah, I see..." Cherry remarked.

"So, what do you think?" Cathleen asked. "After this adventure and we're all done, are you gonna stay here forever?"

"Cath, I don't know..." Cherry said with a sigh. "Part of me feels like I should, especially since Aurelia's here, but at the same time, I feel like I should go back home with you in the end. I just don't know what I'm gonna do in the end."

"Well... Being your friend, I think I'll let you do whatever you think is right," Cathleen said after taking a deep breath. "You're my friend, so I'll support you no matter what choice you make in the end."

"Thank you, Cath. That's very mature of you." Cherry said with a small nod before sipping more of her drink.

"I try my best anyway," Cathleen said before smirking. "I'm another year older, aren't I?"

"Hmm... Sometimes I'm not totally sure about that." Cherry smirked back.

The two friends laughed together for a bit. 

"Hey, Cherry... You wanna do karaoke tonight?" Lilac asked as she walked by. "I miss your beautiful singing voice."

Cherry blushed and grinned nervously in response.

"Karaoke? Cherry?" Cathleen asked. "That doesn't sound right."

"Oh, yeah!" Lilac giggled a bit. "Cherry used to do karaoke here sometimes if she was 'confident' enough. I think she has a very lovely voice."

"Aw, come on, Lilac... I was barely that good..." Cherry said bashfully as she sunk in her seat a bit. 

"I thought you were amazing," Lilac smirked warmly. "Oh, well. I won't force ya."

"Thank you," Cherry sighed in relief. "Maybe another time, okay?"

"Oh, sure thing," Lilac smiled before patting Cherry on the head. "You do you, especially since you're back visiting your home away from home."

"Hm~..." Cherry blushed bashfully in respsonse.

"You two were close too, huh?" Cathleen asked Cherry as Lilac walked away to get back to work.

"Pretty close, yeah," Cherry shrugged a bit. "She usually helped keep pervy men away from me."

"I'd hate to imagine what she'd do if Johnny Bravo did what he did during our old What a Cartoon adventure." Cathleen said in memory.

"Pfft... Let's not imagine that, shall we?" Cherry chuckled.

After a while, Gold had come back, then Cathleen used the restroom next.

"So, is your friend adjusting to Storybrooke okay?" Gold asked Cherry.

"I'm not sure," Cherry shrugged. "She also asked if I'm gonna stay here after the mission or not, but I just don't know what I'm gonna do."

"Well, I can't force you to do what I would want, what's very important is what you would want," Gold replied warmly. "Though I'm sure the answer will be in your heart once you take care of what's going on around here, especially with those Cartoon Network people."

"Believe me, I'd love to get behind what's going on with that," Cherry nodded. "I mean... What do nostalgic cartoon characters have to do with fairy tales?"

"I couldn't tell you." Gold shook his head.

* * *

The two then continued to chat until Cathleen would come back. Eventually, Cathleen did come back, then Cherry decided to visit the bathroom next as the evening was winding down and it was about time to go back to bed for the night. 

"After she's done, we'll turn in for the night." Gold suggested.

"Are ya tired, Mr. Gold?" Cathleen asked.

"No, but we should call it a night," Gold said with a small smile. "I never really need to sleep, though I usually lie down and drift off during the night. Not even I can escape Morpheus' grasp."

"I see..." Cathleen said. "Well, you should know to be careful around me when the next full moon comes out."

"Yes, I know, because you're a Lycan like Mrs. Lucas and her granddaughter," Gold replied casually. "I helped them in the past and could probably even help you... For a price~" he then added with a smirk.

"A price?" Cathleen asked.

"Yes... Magic always comes with a price," Gold replied like it was obvious. "I helped Ruby with her situation back in The Enchanted Forest and it still works for the most part."

"What did you do?" Cathleen then asked.

"Who do you think gave Little Red Riding Hook her cloak?" Gold smirked. "Her grandmother came to me once Ruby was entering adolescence, so she wears it once a month during the full moon so she doesn't go wolf and go out of control if she doesn't want to."

"Man... This place changes everything I know about storybook characters." Cathleen commented.

"Yeah... Someone should write a book or make a TV show about Storybrooke someday," Gold shrugged. "It would definitely be interesting."

* * *

Meanwhile, Cherry was washing her hands in the bathroom before a toilet flushed and Chrys stepped out of the stall she was in, joining Cherry's side at the sinks. 

"Oh... Hey, Chrys." Cherry greeted the blonde waitress. 

"Hi, Cherry," Chrys smiled innocently. "I sure hope that you're having a good time tonight with your friend and Mr. Gold."

"Oh, I am," Cherry nodded. "It's also nice to meet you... You sure you're from Wonderland? I feel like I might know you from somewhere else." she then said as she glanced at Chrys curiously.

"Oh, sure, I'm definitely from Wonderland," Chrys smiled innocently before murmuring something else under her breath. "As far as you know."

"Huh?" Cherry blinked, thinking that she probably heard something else.

"Oh, nothing~" Chrys smiled innocently. "So... You trust Mr. Gold, huh?"

"Well... Yes, I do," Cherry replied. "I was a bit scared of him the first time I saw him, but eventually I began to feel something for him... Then eventually, he and his wife decided to let me move in with them and we all became a happy family and eventually, we had our daughter, Aurelia."

"Oh... A daughter, how cute!" Chrys cooed.

"Yeah... She's a sweetie..." Cherry blushed bashfully before she took out her phone and showed one of Aurelia's baby pictures with her doll. "This was her a while after we brought her home and that doll that I spelled for her, Milah."

"Interesting..." Chrys smiled and nodded. "Though... I'd watch out around Mr. Gold. He was The Dark One first, what's to stop him from becoming The Dark One again?"

Cherry narrowed her eyes. "He wouldn't do that," she then said defensively. "Sure, he was corrupted by the dagger so long that he forgot the goodness in his heart, but he's officially a clean slate, especially after I showed up. I don't know what you heard or who this Fallen Leader is, but it is definitely not Mr. Gold."

"You never know," Chrys said mysteriously. "He could stab you in the back any minute... Hasn't he betrayed Belle before?"

"...I think this conversation is over, Chrys." Cherry said, her voice suddenly distant.

"Because you know I'm right?" Chrys asked. "He always lied to and manipulated Belle. He might do the same for you and he'll just cry using crocodile tears. He'll hurt you worse than any chance you have of healing him."

"Sure, Chrys... Whatever you say..." Cherry said, stiffening in tone. "You believe what you'll wanna believe and I'll believe in what I wanna believe."

"Suit yourself," Chrys shrugged. "I'm just trying to look out for you."

"You don't know me," Cherry glared darkly. "So I think you should focus on waiting tables and serving drinks while keeping your nose out of my business. Don't ever talk to me about Mr. Gold ever again." she then added before coming out of the bathroom and slamming the door behind her. 

Chrys narrowed her eyes, but she allowed Cherry to get going. 

"Sheesh... What a real witch with a capital B..." Cherry grumbled to herself. "She might be a friend of Lilac's, but unless she changes her tune, I'm not speaking to her anymore."

Gold soon looked over, noticing that Cherry was mumbling about something. "Problem, dearie?" he then asked her calmly.

"Huh? Oh, uh... Nothing..." Cherry replied. "Are we leaving then?"

"Yes, I suppose we should," Gold nodded. "If you girls are ready to go then?"

"Yeah... I feel tired all of a sudden." Cherry said.

"I'm almost never tired, but I guess if you guys wanna, we could go." Cathleen shrugged.

"We should probably go," Gold suggested, nodding at Cathleen. "You girls have had a long travel and big adventure ever since you agreed to become The Toon Saviors."

"Tell me about it," Cherry replied. "Probably bigger than the adventures I had here in Storybrooke and some of the ones I had before coming here and finding out about a life I never remembered or knew about."

"Oh, I can understand how big and busy adventures can be sometimes," Gold nodded. "Remember when I was in The Ogre Wars?"

"You had yourself be sent home early." Cherry reminded.

"The point is, there's a struggle and you have to know when enough is enough, plus you girls can focus and solve the long-awaited mystery of who combined the old, classic Cartoon Network and Storybrooke," Gold replied. "Come now. Maybe Belle's back home from hanging out with Ruby and Dorothy."

"Yeah... Hopefully." Cherry said with a small smile. 

"Belle and Ruby are good friends?" Cathleen asked as they soon went out to the Cadillac and went to ride back to their temporary shelters for the rest of the evening.

"Oh, yes," Gold nodded as he drove them away from The Rabbit Hole. "Especially whenever I gave Cherry one-on-one time or whenever Aurelia had a babysitter. They're practically best friends."

"Well, that does sound interesting." Cathleen remarked.

"They usually help each other out of sticky situations too," Cherry added from memory. "Ruby's cool though."

"I like Ruby a lot too," Cathleen agreed. "She feels like a sister to me sometimes, though she and Granny seem to know more about being a wolf than I do from what I remember my dad telling me." 

"Well, Ruby and Mrs. Lucas are just a little bit older than you and you had your memories taken from you like we did before Emma Swan broke our curse," Gold said. "So it probably has something to do with those two key factors."

"Hmm... I guess you're right about that, Mr. Gold." Cathleen then agreed.

"I know quite a lot, dearie~" Gold smirked, almost smugly. "I've been on this Earth much longer than anyone would ever be able to guess, though probably not as much as Merlin."

"As in Merlin the Wizard?" Cathleen guessed.

"Aye," Gold nodded. "He's very wise and has been around the world plenty of times, especially with young King Arthur and his misadventures with Camelot."

Cathleen merely nodded as they continued to ride off, heading for the Bed & Breakfast first.

* * *

Back at The Rabbit Hole, Lilac was on her own way back home as Chrys met up with the bouncer outside the door. 

"So, uh... Were those the two that The Fallen Leader told us about?" The bouncer asked Chrys.

"Of course they were, you idiot. They were hanging around Mr. Gold," Chrys rolled her eyes like it was obvious. "I didn't expect the darker one to listen through to me, but I did what I could."

"And I'm guessing it didn't work out?" The bouncer asked.

"Not so much in my favor," Chrys replied. "We might need to call in the big guns from our team to maybe get through to her. Also, The Fallen Leader might have plans for The Lycan due to her closeness with the supposed Red Riding Hood and Grandmother Riding Hood."

"Makes sense as they're Lycans as well, though the old lady's too old to turn into a wolf again, but her scent is still as strong as ever and she's even got a freakin' crossbow," The bouncer then said. "Not even Sledgehammer O'Possum can get her down with HIS level of slapstick and zaniness that involves cartoon torture and abuse that would make Tom and Jerry blush."

"We'll worry about the grandmother later," Chrys replied. "Let's just head back to our secret base before anyone unsuspecting sees us. At least the Leader can blend in a bit easier with that spellbook from The Queen of Hearts from Wonderland who had a relationship with Rumplestiltskin. Foolish imp thought that she loved him back when she was a mere miller's daughter."

And at that, they soon ran away from The Rabbit Hole as quickly and carefully as they could before anyone would see them and rat them out.

* * *

Eventually, they made it back and were stopped before they could go any further.

"State your names... Your real names and business in Cartoon Network..." The Fallen Leader demanded before they could get too far as two spotlights shined down on the two in the deep darkness of the headquarters.

"Thomas Snider, host of Fridays on Cartoon Network from 2003-2007." The bouncer revealed himself.

"Tara Sands, hostess of Fridays on Cartoon Network from 2005-2007." Chrys added, revealing her true name and self.

"Tommy... Tara... Welcome back," The Fallen Leader chuckled deeply once the room lit up again. "How was your evening going down The Rabbit Hole?"

"Oh, I had a bit of trouble with that so-called perky goth Toon Savior, but I suppose it just goes to show you," Tara shrugged. "You feed the darkness, it feeds on you. She oughta know that since her father is a Shadow Sorcerer and she's all buddy-buddy with Mr. Gold AKA Rumplestiltskin."

"Yes... I have no idea what she sees in that ugly troll," The Fallen Leader scoffed. "We'll probably have to send in Agent Blake after her..."

"Agent Blake?" Tommy and Tara asked.

"Yes... Subject Cherry knows very little about her own past, even after getting her memories back," The Fallen Leader replied. "Luckily there aren't any traces of Facilier or Ursula around right about now, so it might be able to work out."

"Hmm... Hopefully, it does..." Tommy nodded. "You'll have to be careful about that though, uh... Sir... I mean... Cherry isn't as dumb as she might seem to be, not to mention her Lycan friend would probably suspect something, but probably not catch on as quick as she doesn't know a lot about Storybrooke."

"You let me worry about that and you two just do your jobs," The Fallen Leader scoffed. "We'll get them and this whole world will become mine... I'll finally get the recognition I deserve."

"And we'll be better remembered?" Tara asked hopefully.

Tommy and The Fallen Leader both gave her a look then.

"Y-Ya know... _Cartoon Cartoon Fridays_ is more beloved and popular... Even though _our_ Fridays segments got the home video release on DVD?" Tara shrugged, smiling nervously and weakly. "We had much better segments too! Whiskers the Kitten Who Can Name Fruit, Shimmy, Milkman Fred, that weird Spelling Bee..."

"Ah! And don't forget Diner Lady!" Tommy quickly added bashfully. "I-I mean... So much better than that silly old Cartoon Orbit thing where kids could go online and collect cToons or whatever the heck that was. I don't remember a whole lot, to be honest with ya."

"I blame Nickelodeon for that going downhill eventually," Tara then smirked boastfully. "Though it did have that cool game Nicktropolis."

"SILENCE!" The Fallen Leader snapped at them both. "You will get what you want as long as you remember to help me get what I want. Just keep playing along for as long as possible and soon, we will _all_ get our rewards that we all so desire. I'll make it happen, one way or another, even if no one will recognize me once I have those two Saviors exactly where I want them~"

Tommy and Tara nodded, nervously grinning and chuckling.

"I'll ready Agent Blake when the time is right and I'm not talking about Daphne Blake or that annoying little punk Blake Michael who brought us that... Urgh... Experiment of _'Fried Dynamite_ ," The Fallen Leader then said. "You'll see... It'll all be worth it in the end~"

There was soon evil laughter that filled the air. Tommy and Tara then began to laugh along with The Fallen Leader together. The Fallen Leader then stopped laughing, making Tommy and Tara stop laughing. Eventually, the three split up for the rest of the evening and that was that.

* * *

Later, Cathleen was soon dropped off at Granny's Inn and she was on her way to bed.

"Hey, Cathleen," Ruby smiled. "Did you have a nice evening with Cherry and Mr. Gold?"

"Yeah... It was interesting," Cathleen nodded. "Probably not a place I'd go to all the time, but yeah... It was pretty interesting."

"Good... I'm glad you had fun," Ruby replied. "Oh, by the way... I don't mean to keep you up much longer, but what are your parents' names?"

"Oh... Well, I didn't find out until later that the woman I thought was my mother was just my step-mother, so my biological mother's name was Luna and my father's name is Patrick." Cathleen informed.

"I see... Patrick Ross, right?" Ruby nodded.

"Yes, that's right," Cathleen confirmed. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering," Ruby smiled innocently. "You have a good night. Okay, Cath?"

"Sure, Rubes," Cathleen smiled back. "Don't stay up too late, okay?"

"I'll try," Ruby chuckled. "Good night, Cathleen."

"Good night, Ruby." Cathleen nodded before she went back up the stairs to go and get some sleep for the rest of the night after a very eventful evening.

"Patrick... Ross..." Ruby whispered to herself as she scribbled the name down on a random note. "All right... I'll be sure to tell Granny about this." she then said before she left the inn and locked the door behind her to go back to her house with Dorothy. 


End file.
